Another Kind of Revenge
by KickTheBucket
Summary: At age 16, the Powerpuffs are dealing with the dilemma of their powers being illegal. Their enemies have all vanished, though, so there shouldn't be any panic... until the girls are all abducted by no other than their boy counterparts. T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**

'Ello! I wanted to thank all of the people who have been favoriting and reviewing my Teen Titans story "I'm Not Okay, I Promise." I was surprised at its' success, and so… I decided that I'd write some more!

This idea actually came to me while I was in the car, watching a bus drive away. I'd been reading some Powerpuff girl fics lately, so I decided, "What the heck, why not?" So PLEASE read and review! This one's gonna be at least five chapters long, and with reviewers urging me on, I'll actually want to finish it!

I OWN NOTHING BESIDES MY IDEAS!

Thank you :)

I could hear the faint tap, tap, tap of the rain on the window beside me through my headphones even though I had Avenged Sevenfold turned up full blast. That wasn't the only thing I could hear. If it had just been the rain and me, I wouldn't even have bothered with my iPod. Sadly, I wasn't alone.

The freshmen behind me squealed and dabbed more makeup on each other's faces. God, I wanted to barf. I could hear the big jocks in the back tossing a football around. The bullies in the front were dangling some kids' math homework high above his head, and the shortie couldn't reach it. There was obnoxious gossip, too. My name was probably involved.

I sank down lower into my seat and looked down at the screen. I pressed the volume button, praying I could turn it up more. Just my luck… it was already maxed out.

If you haven't figured it out already, I'm on a bus. It might sound really weird and stupid to you because I'm a PowerPuff Girl. I can fly.

About six years ago my sisters and I had been the town's heroes. That was when we were in fifth grade. Unfortunately, this was the year we had been studying laws and such. Princess Morbucks, our worst enemy, had been extremely interested in this for reasons we couldn't put our fingers on…

Until about a week after we concluded our unit.

She ran home to her daddy and convinced him that it should be illegal for people to be looked at as heroes just because they had powers. She told him we should all be considered heroes, and because not all people had super powers, this couldn't happen. Instead, a law was passed that said no superhuman powers could be allowed or exploited. If this rule wasn't followed, the town in which the "hero" lived would be burned to the ground, bit by bit.

My sisters and I had ignored this law of course, until all of the banks and grocery stores were burned down to the ground. An angry mob had materialized outside of our house as soon as a house had been burned. They demanded we should be banished, executed, etc.

The Professor, my brilliant father, had come up with a plan. We would hold some form of ceremony and would pretend to give up our powers. We did such a thing and the whole town believed it.

Unfortunately, there was a bad part to everything.

We were forbidden to ever use our powers outside of our rooms even though we still had them. My sisters hadn't been very happy, but they'd adjusted quickly, saying that it was our chance for a "normal" life.

I'd been furious and rebellious in nature already, and this just made me worse. I tried to use my powers anyway, but when our house was burned down I had to force myself to stop. The Powerpuff girls had ceased to exist then. We had been called by our real names—Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup—from then on.

You may be wondering about the villains of the town. What happened to them? How would the town stay out of the dark if the police couldn't handle them before the Powerpuff girls?

Actually… we really didn't know.

Mojo Jojo had gone into hiding. We hadn't seen him since we had all stopped using our powers. Him, The Gang Green Gang, ALL of our villains had just gone away like someone had just flicked off a light switch. This had puzzled the professor, and it still did, but he didn't show it around us.

Anyway, the reason why I'm sitting in a damned bus is because I can't use my powers, and because Blossom and Bubbles have the car.

As children we were all relatively the same, except for our personalities of course. We were a team… but now we're not. Quite the opposite actually.

At age 12 Blossom became the president of our Student Council. She had gotten straight A's all of her life, and she was no doubt the smartest girl in the 10th grade. She'd kept her pretty looks and her long hair, but she'd switched out her big obnoxious bow after we'd been "stripped" of our powers. She usually wore a jean skirt or something like that and a fancy blouse—something someone smart would wear.

Bubbles on the other hand, had become little miss popular. She was Captain of the Cheerleading Squad, and she was absolutely gorgeous. She was constantly clad in Aeropostale or Abercrombie, and her blonde hair was always doing something different to flatter her face and blue eyes. The whole football team had a crush on her.

Me? I'd like to say that I hadn't changed a bit. I'd kept my tom-boy, dirty attitude although I'd let my wardrobe get a little more girly. Sometimes I'd wear a tank top with a little frill on the bottom. I'd grown my black hair down to my shoulder blades and had layered it heavily so it was always messy in my own stylish way. I always wore camouflaged cargo pants, skinny jeans, or shorts. My shirts consisted of witty sayings, Chuck Norris jokes, and black and green colors. Converse, DCs, and Vans were my best friend. I'd also picked up on music and sports. I had little or no friends.

Thinking of my sisters made my hand creep towards my cell phone which was hiding in my pocket. Ugh. It was _raining! _Why couldn't they just wait for me to pick them up after the Student Council meeting and Cheer practice?

I grimaced and slouched in my seat, pulling up another depressing song. I smiled when Slipknot popped up.

The first notes of the song began to play when suddenly the bus came crashing to a stop. I slammed into the seat in front of me with an alarmed squeak.

"What the hell?" I exclaimed, the only voice in the now quiet bus.

I looked around, expecting chaos to break out, but I found that everyone's attention was now focused at the front of the bus.

Aww man… did someone puke again?

Ready to retch myself, I slowly poked my head around the seat of the bus.

And stared.

A jeep was parked in the middle of the dirt road we were on. I could see that the owner had the lights on. Wondering why said person would leave a green jeep parked in the middle of a dirt road where traffic came both ways made me scoff in disgust. Jeez, how ignorant could people be?

But then I realized something. The owner of the vehicle was sitting on the hood, one leg drawn up beside him, the other leg dangling. He sat completely still for a moment, although he should've been freaked out. The bus had nearly collided with his dumb ass!

The person jumped off of the hood and began to walk slowly up towards the bus. I narrowed my eyes, trying to use those powers I wasn't supposed to have anymore to figure out what he looked like. The stupid rain was blurring my vision!

I couldn't make out his features until he was right next to the bus's headlights. Although I only saw him briefly, my heart just about stopped. I'd seen that face before….

The guy wore baggy faded dark blue jeans, black Vans, and green skull shirt over a long sleeved white shirt. His hair was black and spiked up on his head. He had the stroll of a really muscular guy, and I could tell by the size of his thick chest that he could easily take down any of the jocks behind me. The thing that struck me the most were his eyes. Green… a little bit darker than mine.

I hadn't realized that I'd been zoning out until I heard the glass break. His fist had gone through the folding glass and plastic door of the bus. He pushed his other hand through the hole to join the other one, surprisingly not hurting himself at all. He forced the door open like it was supposed to open in such a way. He lumbered up the steps and looked directly at the bus driver. He appeared to be a little shorter than 6' tall.

The bus driver's lip was quivering. I immediately felt protective. I'd always liked the bearded fat man that reminded me of the Santa Claus I'd met so long ago.

I was about to stand up and leap to his defense when the boy spoke.

"I came to pick someone up," Came the raspy words.

The bus driver's eyes widened.

"D-do you have a note? I'm not allowed to release students without permission from their parent or guardian," The bus driver began to ramble but the boy replied with a simple gesture of punching the little fan on the dashboard into the windshield, which made it crack.

"I came to pick someone up," He growled a little bit more menacingly. "If you don't 'release' them to me _right now _I will take them by force."

The bus driver stayed quiet, refusing to capitulate.

The boy smiled and bit his lip while he shook his head slightly. He reached into his bulgy pocket for something I saw to be silver, and my instincts kicked in at once.

I stood up in less than a second, my light green eyes tinged with fury. "Who do you need?" I snarled.

The boy looked at me, and he raised his eyebrows without a word.

"Who do you need?" I repeated, a little more menace to my voice this time. "You can take them if you can go through me."

This time, he smiled. It was a bit cute. A little chuckle escaped his lips.

"Alright. I'll fight you. It'll only take a second anyway."

"Who are we fighting over?"

Those dark green depths clouded with amusement. "You," He said.

I made a snarling noise in the back of my throat against my own will.  
"Bullshit," I muttered darkly, stepping into the aisle and stalking closer.

"Alright, change of plans then," The boy said in a husky tone. Before I could stop him, he reached into his pocket with lightning-fast speed. He pulled out a pistol, one I knew he was hiding.

"You come with me right now or—" He paused to cock the gun and point it at a random child, "—I'll shoot this little girl."

Everything inside of me screamed to find some other way. I could resist, and BANG! That kid was dead. I could try and force it out of his hand right now, but with my luck someone else would be dead. A little idea popped into my head. I nearly smiled. I hoped desperately in that minute that I had been born with the good acting skills.

I made my shoulders slump and I tried to appear downcast.

"Alright," I growled. "You win." And I stomped out of the bus and into the downpour. I was sure everyone was staring at me as I stepped out into the rain, but I didn't give a damn right now. I hadn't seen action since the fifth grade. I was ready for it.

I saw the boy pause, and then he spoke in a rushed quiet tone to the bus driver—giving him orders no doubt. After punching in the radio the busdrivers used to communicate, he sauntered out of the bus and turned to salute the bus driver. The poor man looked terrified and disappointed in himself that he'd let a child go, but he pulled together what he could of the door, revved the engine, and drove off.

The only sound then, was the downpour and the quiet motor of the idling jeep behind us.

"You just made a fatal mistake," I chortled, gathering up what powers I had to outwit him and make him pay.

"Nah, I don't think so Miss Hero," He said, turning to face me. His hair was so sodden that little bits of it were spilling over his eyes, making them look darker.

"Alright," I muttered, holding out my hands, "Handcuff me, take me away to a shack in the woods where your buddies are hiding to do who-knows-what to me. I'm ready, go ahead."

The boy laughed. "You've gotten funnier." He didn't pull out a pair of handcuffs, but he did grab forcefully onto my wrists and drag me towards the Jeep.

"Let me just warn you, you're in a HUGE load of trouble. I've got sisters, and they're not merciful when it comes to our family's safety. In fact, I don't even think they'll need to come. I can handle you all by myself."

He buckled me into the Jeep with some weird customized belt thing. I couldn't move if I used my normal human strength, but I could probably burn it open with my laser-eyes.

He ignored my comment and circled the car to get into the driver's seat. Once seated, he revved the engine and began to drive forward. I saw the meter rise. 30 miles per hour…45 miles per hour… 80 miles per hour… 100… that was as fast as it could go! I didn't mind, I'd always drove in the fast lane, but something told me he wasn't as careful as I was.  
"Woah, slow down!" I commanded, trying to reach forward to push his shoulder forcefully. I couldn't of course. I also didn't want to give up my identity _just _yet.

He ignored me again. Jeez, I hated being ignored. We pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned gas station just outside of Townsville. He slowed the car to a stop and pulled the key out of the ignition. We sat there for a few moments. I stared at him with growing irritation and he stared out of the windshield. Suddenly, the corners of his mouth lifted up into a smile.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?" He asked, turning to me.

I put on a disgusted look and raised an eyebrow. "Should I?"

He laughed once, a sinister sound, and opened the car door. He came around to my side and pulled me out. He set me down but made me put my hands behind my back. Once I'd done that, he squeezed my wrists so tightly I thought they might break—and I was a _superhuman!_

He pushed open the glass doors of the gas station, revealing a few shelves of stacked up gum—the usual for a gas station.

"What, you need to freshen your breath?" I growled, but he didn't say anything and he walked to the back of the store. I was surprised to find that there was a sliding metal-paneled door. It looked like something an old guy would use to cover his garage. He took one hand off of my wrists—although his grip didn't loosen—and he pulled up the door.

The room was covered in TVs. Big ones, little ones, flat screens, computer screens, any TV that had ever been created. A row of theatre seats sat facing the East Wall. He pushed me down into one in the middle and strapped me in. I was starting to panic as I realized that the straps he put me in were made of titanium—or some other weird form of unbreakable fabric.

"What the hell? What are you gonna do to me?" I shrieked. He laughed and motioned toward the door, just as I heard it swing open again.

"Brick's the ones with all the brains," He whispered. What? Brick?

And that's when I saw two other guys hauling my unconscious sisters into the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**

**Hello again! It's time for Chapter two!**

**I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing, favoriting, and adding this story to your alerts! Overall I got four alerts, four favorites, and six reviews. This is the best outcome I've EVER had! Thanks so much to "Its meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee", Pink Moon Witch, FKS, laurenv20, AutumnBlayze, vwanlover, meli31295, and lildreamer lil2cool. This story has only been up for a day, and already I feel like it's a huge success! Please continue to review, and also give me some feedback if you think I could add something to make this story it's best :)**

**Originally I was going to only do this story in Buttercup's POV, but I decided it might be cute to describe how Brick and Boomer got Blossom and Bubbles to the gas station—even though it says that they were unconscious when they arrived. So… I think I'm gonna do Blossom/Brick first. Please tell me what you think! :)**

**Disclaimer: I own no characters, nor do I own "Townsville". I own my ideas.**

(Blossom's POV)  
"Alright, everyone take a seat. This meeting's pretty important," I called out. I couldn't help but smile as I heard the clarity of my voice bounce off of the walls in the High School's presentation room. Ever since I'd been able to earn A's, I'd gotten them. Perfectly, too, if I must add. Buttercup and Bubbles could focus on sports, boys, and music, but academics was my area of expertise.

I waited for everyone to sit down before I smoothed my pink skirt out across my lap and pulled my off-white long sleeved shirt down a little bit. I didn't want anything unnecessary to show. Although I was mostly concerned about my grades, I didn't mind a little bit of eye-candy every once in a while.

Sadly, the Student Council was devoid of any of that. All of the boys were… Nerds. They were pimple-faced, wearing over-sized glasses, and pocket protectors. Bubble's worst nightmare, although she was nice to everyone.

I began to discuss all of the terms the Vice President and I had come up with, leaving out certain details and adding in new ones. We had to get everyone to vote on certain things.

It was about half way through the shaken-up-soda-cans-in-the-toilet dilemma when I saw a shadow darken the doorway to the room. I nearly groaned out loud. Who could be _this _late? We were thirty minutes into the meeting!

I heard the person shift their weight so they could lean against the wall, and I ignored the person who had currently been favored to talk. I had zoned in on the unknown person so closely, trying to figure out who they were without my powers, that I forgot about the meeting.  
"Blossom?" Came the snuffy-nosed words, "BLOSSOM?"

I snapped out of it. "Oh, sorry. I'm just tired. I spent all night trying to spit-polish my microscope."

This brought out many sighs and words of pity. Apparently I'd chosen a popular subject to discuss around the nerds. Surprisingly, I heard the person outside of the door chuckle a little bit. I furrowed my brows. I couldn't figure out who it was… and as Student Council President, I knew everything!  
We let the subject of microscopes and spit-polishing pass and we finished off the meeting as quickly as we'd started it.

Naturally, when the meeting ended, I was the last person out of the room. I gathered up my books, and pulled my long hair over my shoulder in such a way that it would be pretty as well as smart-looking—just like my wardrobe. I walked out of the door, turned and quickly locked it behind me.

I looked out into the plain looking white-walled hall for a moment before turning to walk to the door that led outside. I wondered who that strange person could have been. I almost regretted not using my powers to find out.

I had just pushed the door open when I realized maybe not using my powers was a good decision.

That same shape of shadow was leaning against the terra cotta colored wall outside of the door. It was a guy.

He was wearing jeans, red Reeboks, and a red hooded sweatshirt. He had his hood pulled up over his head. I looked around. The sky was only dark with heavy clouds in the horizon… it was no doubt that my house would be being pummeled with rain right now, but it wasn't pouring here. It was stupid for him to be wearing his hood right now.

The figure was silent, just leaning with his back against the wall and his hands stuffed in the pockets of his red sweatshirt.

"Um… hi!" I said, trying to sound cheerful. It was my duty as Student Council President to help new students, and this guy didn't look any older than me. He _had _to be a student. "Can I help you with something?"

The boy stood upright for the first time and looked in my direction. The sun shone overhead so his hood shadowed his whole face, and the only feature I could really make out were his eyes. Something about them seemed familiar…. But what?

Those eyes were a dark, enticing ruby red. I could see intelligence, leadership, valor; those same features I had in my own eyes.

"Uh, yeah," He muttered, facing me completely now. He pulled off his hood to reveal his face. My heart leapt in its cavity and began to beat hard.

He had tanned features like he had spent half of his life on a beach. His red hair had been gelled up into a fauxhawk (I thought this haircut was obnoxious and completely ridiculous until I saw it on him.) and his cheeks, forehead, and nose were pimple free. Thank God!

He held out his hand. "I'm new here."

I let a smile spread across my cheeks. "Obviously," I replied, shaking his hand in turn.

"Your principle—err, my principal now I guess—said I should join the Student Council? I went and stood outside of the room a bit earlier, but I didn't want to interrupt." He explained.

I thought about this. "Well… the thing is you have to have extremely good grades and you have to have the time to spend on the school. You also have to have leadership, confidence-" I began to ramble, but his bright smile stopped me.

"I do," He said, and he pulled a folded up piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me.

I perused it for a few moments. Science: A+, Math: A+, History: A+, Technology: A+. It went on and on.

"Well, uh… you certainly seem qualified here, but it's your personality that counts. You've gotta be able to represent a certain part of the school," I told him after I handed him back his paper.

The boy smiled. "Well, I could tell you about all I did back at my old school."

I returned the smile again, but sadly this time. "I'm sorry, I'd love to hear! But I've got to pick up my sister from cheerleading." I told him, beginning to back away politely.

"Oh, hey! I have to get my brother from Football, so… maybe I could walk with you?" He suggested.

A little bit of heat rose to my face. "O-Okay!" I replied a bit too hastily.

As we walked, we shared some stories. I told him about winning an adult science fair in my freshmen year, never getting anything below 100%, always being the best. Apparently, he'd done some of the same. He was in the highest classes, ran his own tutoring service, had been considered a regional mathematician since the 8th grade, and had also been the best. He revealed that at his old school he had already been chosen as valedictorian for his senior year. To this I replied, "Hey, me too!"

We'd been hitting it off so well, that I hadn't realized that we weren't heading to the field but to the parking lot.

"Uh… shouldn't we be heading back to the field?" I asked him, feeling a bit rude since I had interrupted him.

"Oh yeah… sorry, I guess I got sidetracked. I do that when I think about this stuff."

I nodded with a small smile. Where had this guy been all my life? He completely got me! And he was actually SMART!

I turned to head back to the field but he grabbed a hold of my arm suddenly. I jumped, surprised, and looked up at him.

"Sorry," He apologized, "I just wanted to show you something, and I almost forgot."

I wearily followed him to his car. It made me a bit squeamish inside when I saw it was a classic shiny red mustang.

Seeing my smile when I looked at the car, he said, "It's a '76."

I raised my eyebrows. "Wow." It looked like he had taken good care of it. He sat down in the drivers seat and motioned to the passenger's side.

"Get in real quick. I just need to show you something," He said. There was something strange about his sentence. For the first time I wasn't sure if I believed him. Feeling a little uneasy, I walked around the car and opened the car door. I sat delicately on the edge of the tan leather seat closest to the door, just in case.

"Do you have any family?" He asked. I assumed he was trying to make conversation. "Besides your sister, I mean."

I nodded. "Yeah, I've got one other sister. She's really grumpy, so Bubbles and I made her ride the bus home since we only have one car."

"Ah, that's a shame," He sighed. "I mean about the car thing. My brothers and I all have our own."

"How many brothers do you have?" I asked, slightly interested.

"I'm the oldest of three. They look nothing like me, though." He replied.

And then it hit me. I was so stupid! No wonder we were so much alike! Deciding to play along with the stupid blonde thing, I looked on expectantly.

"So… what did you want to show me?" I asked cheerily.

A wicked smile lit his face and he reached over to open the glovebox, accidentally brushing my leg. Although I knew who he was now, I couldn't help the slight blush that appeared on my cheeks.

"Ah, man!" He cursed as his hand dug through the insides. "I can't find it!"

"Can't find what?"

"The rope."

"The rope?" I repeated, although I was already one step ahead of him.

"Yeah," He chuckled, "The rope." And out of nowhere came his other hand, already tied and ready for my hands.

Before he could even touch me I seized his fist in my hands.

"God, Brick! Do you honestly think I'm _that _stupid?" I yelled, thrusting his hand away and getting up to get out of the car.

With his own lightning fast speed he reached over, pulled my waist back into the seat and shut and locked the door.

"Damn it!" I cussed, turning to him. I arched my back against the door and put my feet up in front of me, just in case he got any bright ideas. My hand groped the door for the handle. Oh, so close! I almost had it!

But apparently the move with my legs had been a wrong one.

"It seems you're out of practice, Blossom," He growled, swiftly tying and knotting the rope tightly around my ankles. I used both of them to kick at him, but he was already on the other side of the car.

"Oh, Brick," I snarled angrily, "When I get out of this your ass is gonna be smeared on the sidewalk!"

"But how can you smear me when you've got the worst hangover you'll ever have in your life?" He replied with a smug smile. I looked at him with confusion. He had me this time.

"What?" I growled.

Once again, before I could stop him, he whipped an inhaler-looking thing out of his pocket. (Trust me, I know what an inhaler looks like. I've been around enough of those nerds.) He pulled back a lever and pressed it forcefully to my lips. With a simple press of a button a strange smoke was released into my mouth.

I'd like to say that I'd put up a convincing fight, but that would have been a lie. The last thing I saw was his victorious face before my world went black.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**

**Heya! I got another big turnout of reviews, story-followers, and favorites! THANKS SO MUCH TO: Maripinkkirby, vwanlover, ppgrulz123, meli31295, Monkey-Lover-25, animeskullgirl16, the-writing-vampire (thanks for recognizing my shot at trying to make distinctions with each character.), 18madison81, evioletfox, and AutumnBlayze. Also, as an answer to AutumnBlayze's question: Depending on what's happening at the time in the story, I will switch from different point of views. **

**I'm also debating on whether I should write from one of the RowdyRuffBoy's POVS, so please tell me what you think on that :).**

**THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! It makes me happy and also makes me want to write more.**

**Anyways, it's time for Bubbles and Boomer! I actually spent more time on the cute little crush aspect with this, since I think of Bubbles and Boomer as the sweeter characters. **

**Please tell me what you think!**

**Chapter 3**

(Bubbles POV)

I combed my damp ice blonde hair into two long ponytails on the sides of my head and watched the sun disappear behind a few dark clouds. It was days like these that made me kind of sad. The blue sky was too cheerful and favorable for me to forget it existed and look at these heavy, frothing gray balls of cotton for any amount of time—even if it meant rain.

I held back a yawn and looked sleepily across the field toward the science wing of Townsville High School where my sister Blossom should have been right now. Cheerleading practice had ended about ten minutes ago, and since her meeting ended thirty minutes before my practice, she should be here by now. I'd even taken a shower and blow-dried my hair to give her more time!

I sat down on the bottom row of the bleachers and began to twiddle my thumbs. It wasn't my nature to be impatient, but I couldn't help it. Blossom was always here on time! Why in the world was she late? That was usually Buttercup's problem.

I took my light blue cell phone out of the book bag sitting beside my feet and checked it hopefully for messages—nothing.

Huffing a breath, I tucked it back into its place and stared ahead, looking for someone to talk to or something to do. I felt lonely.

Football practice had started as soon as Cheerleading practice had ended. It would be done in a few minutes.

I looked over to where the guys were lined up against each other, half of them wearing a red shirt over their black and yellow jerseys. I observed each of them: Some tall, short, some lean, some bulky, some with blue eyes, green eyes, brown eyes, some gray. I'd probably dated all of them at one point. That didn't mean that I was constantly dating someone new—that went against everything I was! That would be sleazy!

I usually dated the same guy for about three months and went steady, until he proved himself to be a jerk or something. Then I'd dump him. I didn't go looking for someone right after the breakup, though. I'd go a few months or so without a boyfriend, and then by the next big dance I'd have one. I hadn't found the perfect one yet. Obviously, I was single at the moment.

The play was called and the guys sprang at each other, pushing their opponent down into the grass firmly but not enough to really injure them. After the practice play was done, a few more players came out onto the field.

My eyes fell on a certain one—Number 63. Had there been a 63 before? I remembered a 64 before, yes, but never a 63… He was a few inches taller than average, and he wasn't too lean but he wasn't too bulky. I could only make out his eyes and the color of his skin thanks to his helmet, though. His skin was a medium peach color, and his eyes were a dark ice blue—a little bit darker than my own sky blue orbs.

He lined up against Number 43 and I winced. Paul was gonna crush him! He was at least five inches taller! The plays were called, and the guys exploded into each other. Just like I had predicted, Paul pushed #63 flat on his back and ran to catch the football.

63 sat up slowly and rubbed his helmet, although that probably wouldn't do any good because it wasn't the part that probably actually hurt.

At that moment, Couch Foutz sprinted onto the field and blew his whistle.

"Alright boys, that's enough for today!" He called, and almost everyone exchanged Hi-fives and stupid jokes—everyone except 63 whom was still sitting in the grass.

I wondered if I should go and help him up, but as I tried to stand the muscles in my legs protested. I'd been cartwheeling, flipping, and running for an hour straight today. I was probably going to fall down too if I tried to help—especially because he probably weighed more than me.

While I had been thinking, 63 had gotten to his feet. I heard him breath a sigh as he watched his fellow players stomp into the locker room. I stayed completely silent, hoping for once not to be noticed.

He stretched his arms tentatively above his head and I saw him visibly flinch. Ouch… he must be a rookie or something. But then I looked at the muscles in his legs. Maybe he was a new student?

His hands reached for his helmet, and he pulled it off slowly. I had to stop myself from smiling like the giddy little girl I still was.

His hair was a golden color that glinted in the light, even if there was no sun to make it shine. It fell down to his chin, but it was combed a certain way that made it look shaggy yet cute. It looked like it was cut in layers that flipped out in certain places, but I figured it just grew like that. His face was round, yet not. Those dark ice blue eyes made shivers run through my skin yet again. He was adorable!

Feeling a bit braver, I gathered myself and stood up. Ignoring my bag for the time being, I walked slowly over to him.

He wasn't facing me now. He was looking over toward the Science Wing of the school for some reason. Maybe Blossom was finally coming. I stood on my tippytoes to look past his head, but I saw nothing.

Once I was close enough for my soft words to be heard, I spoke.

"So… you're new here, huh?"

He turned abruptly to stare at my face, those gorgeous eyes spread wide. It seemed I had startled him. I thought my words had been a mistake, but realized I was terribly wrong when a beautiful smile spread across his face.

"Uh… yeah. I just transferred," He told me, brushing self-consciously at the dirt that was staining his arms.

I made a face at one of the large bruises that covered one of his hard biceps. "It looks like you took quite a hit there," I muttered, gently placing my finger on the spot.

He winced and shifted away slightly, a light blush on his face.

"Uh… yeah. I'm not used to being averagely built. I was one of the strongest at my old school—I was the Quarterback, actually," He replied proudly, puffing his chest out.

I couldn't help but giggle.

A troubled look spread across his face. "What? Do I seem too weak?"

I shook my head. "It's the way you said it," I explained, "Most of those bone-heads don't have a good sense of humor."

He nodded slowly, taking in my words. Then he nodded down at me.

"So… are you a sister? Or a girlfriend or something?" He asked curiously.

I giggled again, "Oh, no. I'm Head Cheerleader."

"_Head_ cheerleader, huh?" He repeated, "Well no wonder they make you guys have practice first. If they all looked like you, we would surely be distracted if one of you got here early."

Now it was my turn to blush. He was obviously flirting.

And I liked it.

"Aww, you're too sweet," I laughed, and he looked genuinely pleased at my words.

"So… what's your name?" He prompted.

I held out my hand. "Bubbles Utonium." I said.

He shook it lightly. "Well, nice to meet you, Bubbles! That's a pretty interesting name."

I smiled again. "Yeah, I'm the youngest of triplets. Our father all gave us names that started with a B."

The boy nodded slowly again, apparently thinking about this. There was a new look in his eyes… one I couldn't identify.

"Hey," he said abruptly, "Cheerleading practice ended like, an hour ago, didn't it?"

I nodded sheepishly.

"Do you have a ride?" He asked, and a bit of red tinted his cheeks. I recognized it because I'd gotten that reaction many times before. This time, I actually _really _wanted to ride in his car.

"Uh… well I thought I did, but my brainiac sister decided to ditch me I guess. Her student council meeting was supposed to end before my practice. I guess she forgot about me," I explained.

To my surprise, he laughed. "That's why me and my brothers each have our own cars."

I stared at him, a bit stunned. His family must be rich….

"C'mon," He said, nodding over toward the Student Parking Lot. "I'll give you a ride home."

I smiled gratefully and walked back over to the bleachers to grab my bag and then I followed him over to his car in a comfortable silence.

It was a pretty car, and most importantly… it was FAST. He walked me over to the silver Mazda Convertible.

"Wow… pretty," I breathed.

"Yeah… I'm not much of a car person. My two older brothers always give me crap about it because I don't know how to fix my own motor when it breaks."

"Does it break a lot?"

The boy bit his lip, and shook his head shyly. "Not really when I drive it. When I let them, it breaks almost every time. It can go up to like 185 miles per hour."

I giggled again, realizing that he wanted to impress me and didn't really want to go fast. "I can handle the speed limit," I reassured him, and nearly laughed out loud when I saw him breath a secret sigh of relief.

He opened the silver door for me and motioned for me to sit on the soft black leather. "Ladies first." He said with a smile.

I returned that smile and sat down, letting him shut my door. I strapped myself in and waited for him to round the front of the car and sit in the front seat.

"So… how do we get to this house of yours?" He asked me, backing out of his parking space.

My house didn't come into mind, though. The first thing I thought of was FOOD. I was so hungry.

"Hey, do you mind if we stop at a Sonic or something first? I'll buy," I told him.

He snickered. "Am I a chauffeur or a football player?"

I hit him lightly on his muscular chest and sat back in my seat.

He, of course, decided to oblige to my request politely.

We pulled out of the school parking lot and began to drive down the familiar street.

"So… tell me about yourself," He said, trying to start a conversation.

"Uh, well… I'm the youngest of three, and the head cheerleader of the school. Um… I was voted Prom Queen last year?" I answered him. "What about you?"

"Well, I _was _the Quarterback," He paused, letting me giggle, "And I'm the youngest of three, too. They call me a sissy sometimes because brutal strength, rebelliousness and smarts aren't all what I'm about."

I gasped, and looked up at him, feeling a slight connection. "Me too!"

"Hah! No way!" He barked, pulling into a stall at the Sonic on Main Street.

"So… what're you gonna have?" He asked.

"Um… just get me a corndog." I answered.

"A corndog? You've _got _to be kidding me. You should get something a little more elaborate. I would've thought someone like you would order something really complex!" He joked.

"Hey, I'm full of surprises," I shot back with a smile.

"Good. I'm sick of the predictable girls."

Suddenly, I felt curious.

"So… have you dated a lot?" I asked.

He was silent for a moment, and then he shook his head. He seemed truthful. That was a rare quality for the boys I liked—if I liked him. He could be some ass and I wouldn't even know it. Wait, I was getting ahead of myself. I'd only known him for less than an hour!

"Being the baby in my family, I'd rather just… I dunno… write a poem or something. I've never been big on the dating thing," He explained.

I stayed silent. Dating wasn't my life, but it was a big part of it. I hated being alone.

After awhile the carhop brought us our food, giving the boy (whose name I still didn't know) an admiring look in the process. I actually felt jealous for a moment, but I quickly brushed that off.

I pulled out my money to pay for my meal, but he laid his hand over mine and shook his head, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. Wow. That was nice.

"Thanks," I whispered when the carhop had gone away.

He shrugged. "No problem."

He wolfed down the hamburger he'd ordered, and backed out of the lot.

"Is it okay if I eat this in here?" I questioned, pointing to the plain corn dog he'd unwillingly ordered for me. I didn't want to ruin his seats or anything.

He shrugged. "My bros don't care. They eat in here all the time. And you've probably got better etiquette than they do."

I laughed again.

It suddenly occurred to me he hadn't told me his name, or his brothers names either.

"Hey-" I began, but I stopped speaking when he pulled over to the side of the road.

He turned towards me, and his dark blue orbs burned into mine. "I need to talk to you," he muttered gruffly.

"A-about what?" I asked, not able to hide the nervousness in my voice. My stomach fluttered.

"About… this," He motioned around, and I realized that he meant he and I.

"Oh." Was he talking about the situation we were in right now? In his convertible, pulled over to the side of the road at sunset?

"Look, I need to apologize to you." He said, looking truly genuine.

"About what?" I repeated, a bit confused.

"I'm sorry Bubbles," he whispered, reaching into his back pocket. The first thing that came to my mind was that he was going to pull out some sort of knife, or a gun, but then the sweet, sad look on his face stopped that thought. What was he doing?

Suddenly, he pulled out an inhaler-looking-thing, and with lightning fast speed he pressed it to my mouth, pressed a button, and released some strange gas.

And for some reason, everything became clear.

As my head fell back onto the seat and I felt my body grow numb, I realized why he hadn't said his name, or the names of his family. It would have been a dead give-away.

"Boomer?" I whispered.

"Sorry, Bubbles," Came the soft words next to my ear.

And then my eyesight dimmed, and my consciousness faded.

**A/N**

**I know an Author's Note might ruin this little cliffhanger, but I couldn't resist. I just have to tell you that #63 is my cousin's number on his football team—and he's my favorite cousin, although he doesn't resemble Boomer at all. I just had to say that :)**

**Please review!**

**~Mars**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**

**Hello again!**

**Since I've already posted all of the stories about how the girls were tricked and/or forced to go to this mysterious gas station, I'm going to continue on from the end of Buttercup's POV.**

**Also, I just want to say that I rewrote this chapter quite a few times. It was a bit difficult to get back into the swing of things after the POV switches.**

**Muchos Gracias to ppgrulz123, maripinkkirby, AutumnBlayze, Pink Moon Witch, Monkey-Lover-25, the-writing-vampire, meli31295, vwvanlover, animeskullgirl16, and brother bandit for reviewing/following/favoriting :)**

**Also, since I got quite a few people saying that I should do an RRB POV, I will in a future chapter. It won't be in this one or the next one, but it probably will be in Chapter 6. Thanks so much for reviewing and telling me what you thought about that :) **

**Please review! I want to know if how I'm writing this is descriptive enough, and if it makes sense!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my ideas.**

Chapter 4

(Buttercup POV)

I'd like to say that I knew exactly who they were the moment I laid my eyes on them. I'd also like to say; that I'd remarkably burst out of my chair, sprang at all three of those stupid boys, knocked them out, and drove away in their nicest car with both of my sisters.

Unfortunately, I would've been lying.

What really happened was above me. I'd just sat there with my mouth hanging open like I'd just had my brains fried—and I'd actually come close to that before.

The guy with the red fauxhawk put my oldest sister down in the chair next to me, and strapped her in with a weird fabric that was identical to my own. The Blondie did the same with Bubbles on my other side.

For the first time in years—or in my life really—my shoulders slumped in true confusion and I stared down at the floor with wide eyes. My head flashed up again and I looked at both of my sisters. They were unconscious. How could two immensely strong girls be _unconscious? _We were freaking superhuman for crying out loud!

I looked up at the boys again, and like a tsunami hitting Hawaii, the truth hit me. I saw their resemblance to us for the first time in a long time, and I wanted to punch myself in the face.

How could I have been so STUPID? How could I have not realized it was _Butch _and not some psycho high schooler?

"Alright assholes, what do you want?" I growled.

The one I recognized to be Brick straightened up when Butch lunged forward to, no doubt, knock me over the head with a fist. He pulled his dark haired brother back and a smile filled with malice spread across his features.

"Long time no see, Buttercup," He replied in a deep voice.

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock," I muttered.

"Your language has broadened," He observed. I stared up at him for the longest time. He sounded just like Blossom with all those weird long words that neither Bubbles nor I used.

My fists clenched at my side. "I _said_," I began to snarl, "_What do you want?"_

"We'll tell you once Sleeping Beauty and Brainiac wake up," Butch replied with a smug smile.

"_NO_. You are going to tell _ME _RIGHT NOW!" I yelled. The boys didn't stiffen like I had wanted. Boomer just sat there with a weird look on his face that I couldn't place and the other two burst out laughing.

"Yeah, Little Miss Sunshine," Butch laughed, "'Cause you're _soooo _scary right now!"

I narrowed my eyes at him. When I got out of this, he would be so terrified that he was going to pee his pants.

"Alright then, do whatever you want to me, but let Blossom and Bubbles go," I muttered darkly, feeling a bit deflated although my anger was at its peak. Blossom had some huge thing for Speech and Debate tomorrow, and if she woke up and realized she was going to miss it, not only would she flip out but also she would never let the matter rest until she could be where she needed to be.

"You've gotten more responsible too?" Brick gasped with mock astonishment, "I thought it was impossible!"

"Hey, wait a sec," Butch put it, "If she was irresponsible, does that mean I was irresponsible?"

"What do you mean _was?_" I said before Brick could respond, "You still _are!"_

Brick and Boomer exploded in deep laughter, but Butch just stared at me with an angry red face. When his brothers had ceased in their joking, he turned and began to stomp out of the room.

"Come on," He growled over his shoulder as he ran a hand through his thick black hair, "Let's get out of here. We'll deal with them tomorrow."

Boomer and Brick exchanged a glance and followed Butch out the door. Boomer followed last, and I caught him looking at Bubbles with that weird look in his eyes. I knew that look before.

I let a growl form in the back of my throat, and he looked my way, a bit alarmed, as he exited the room and the door slammed behind him. I scoffed. Good. Let him be afraid. I wasn't going to let him play Romeo and Juliet with my little sister. Bubbles was a sap for love, and she would think his fondness toward her was romantic even if it was exactly the opposite of such a feeling.

And then I was alone, in the ever-quiet room. There was no clock to tick the time away, all of the TVs were off, and there was only one light on in the room. Just my luck—it was neon, and it was flickering. It was also buzzing.

So as I thought of what the hell they wanted with us, that incessant buzzing echoed across the little room. The buzzing and frustration of thinking made me want to tear my hair out!

Maybe the boys were as sick-minded as I thought, and they wanted to just play games with us. Maybe worse. Maybe they were still working for someone, but it was a villain of a higher class now. The boys had been born with the purpose to be minions. They'd evolved and had started to work for themselves when I'd last seen them, but they were clever. They would resort to whatever they had to in order to get what they wanted—whether it be entertainment or sweet, sweet, revenge.

Whatever the matters, though, I wouldn't let them lay a hand on either of my sisters. I would still keep my big-headedness about that.

While Boomers' looks of admiration towards Bubbles made me wonder if this wall all for romantic purposes, Brick and Butch's actions made me think twice. Brick hadn't cast a second glance at Blossom when he put her down, and Butch had been trying hard to piss me off the whole time. That was okay, though. Two could play at that game. Irritating people was one of my specialties.

With these thoughts on my mind, I let myself drift off.

It was a good thing I was a light sleeper.

I woke up immediately when I heard a cry of rage. My head shot up and I looked around blindly, trying to find the source of the loud noise. When the sound emitted again, I found the source: My right side where my sister Blossom was seated.

She was screaming and kicking her legs in fury. Her eyes were closed, but she was most definitely awake.

She opened her eyes and turned her head after she'd screamed for the third time. She noticed I was awake and was staring at her with wide green eyes.

"Where are we? What the heck did you _do, Buttercup?" _She shrieked.

Of course. It always my fault if we got into these situations. Did she even _see _Brick when he knocked her out? Curiosity gnawed at me. What had happened before they were brought here? Had their situation been like mine? Had they resisted, instead of just complying like me? These questions crawled around inside of my brain, but I ignored them for the time being and made it my main concern to calm my sister down.

"Do you remember anything from before you went to sleep?" I asked her calmly.

This made her pause in another shriek of rage and she looked down at her feet. That smart-girl look came to her face and she pursed her lips. I could tell she was heavily thinking. Suddenly her head snapped up and her light ruby-red eyes went wide.

"Brick," She whispered.

So she had at least _seen _him. Wait. Jealousy consumed me for a brief moment. She had recognized him, and I hadn't? This made me feel stupid, but a rational part of me told me I shouldn't argue. She couldn't help my occasional dumbness.

"Yeah," I chose a simple sigh instead of an argument, "Butch and Boomer are apart of this too." I motioned with my head to Bubbles on my other side.

Her eyes went even wider—which I didn't think was possible. I leaned back so she could peer around me, and almost as soon as she saw our sweet, angelic little sister, her face hardened.

"What do they want?" She demanded me, her air changing from shocked and confused to its old leader-ly and smart state.

I shrugged. "They said they wouldn't tell me 'til you guys woke up."

Her face went bright red. "Woke up?" She gasped, "BUTTERCUP! You were _awake?"_

My anger went soaring high again, but I couldn't stop it this time when I lashed back at my sister. "Hell yeah I was awake! I'm the one with the fast reflexes! I saw the punch before he could deliver it!" I lied. I didn't even know if Blossom had been slugged, and from her white, bruise-free face, my common sense told me that she probably wasn't. "I don't get knocked out easily!"

"I didn't get _hit, _Buttercup," She growled slowly, "He knocked me out with some gas. Even though we don't use our powers, it doesn't mean we're not still superhumans! It would take a lot more than a simple punch to knock us out!"

"Well, I was strong enough to keep awake and take in our surroundings. When we escape, I'll be the only one who knows how to get out."

"Oh, Ha-Ha. All that little statement possesses is bragging rights, little sister. _Bragging rights,_" She paused. "If you weren't asleep when you came here, how did Butch get you here?"

I didn't want to tell her. Surely she'd call me a weak fool. I caved.

"I thought he was some normal High School guy. And besides, he like, pulled the bus over, and threatened to shoot a bunch of people! What was I supposed to do? Just sit there and look scared?" I growled.

Blossom sighed in exasperation. "We've already discussed this a number of times. When something happens, you just have to sit back and let the world take its course. We aren't heroes anymore, we're just normal girls."

"We're _not _normal, Blossom. No matter how much you want to pretend we are. The Professor let us keep our powers for a reason. We were meant to save the world, and not give it up after one little law was made."

"No law is little," Blossom retorted, "And if we go against the law, it doesn't make us heroes. It makes us villains. It makes us as low as the ones who brought us here."

"No, Blossom. I did what I did because it was the _right thing to do._ I didn't care if I got caught. I wasn't going to deny my abilities. If I can use them to help people, I will," I growled. Actually, I had been using my powers secretly for a few months. Every once in a while, when I was walking down a street or something and I'd see a crime, I'd help a little. Like last week I saw a lady being mugged. From across the street, I shot the mugger's ass with my laser-vision, and the lady had snatched her purse and walked away while the guy crumpled to the ground and gripped at his backside. While it was only a little deed compared to what I used to do, it still made me feel good. Like I was helping for once.

Blossom let a snarl escape her lips, and our eyes locked threateningly. Suddenly, a little groan from behind us made us stop.

"Would you guys stop fighting for once?" Came the quiet voice. We turned to see Bubbles staring at us through tired sky-blue eyes. Her head was back against her seat, and a few pieces of blonde hair were in her face. For once, she didn't look her best.

"We're not fighting, Bubbles," Blossom tried to soothe her from behind me.

"Yeah, you are!" Bubbles groaned. "I'm not stupid!"

We stayed quiet; hoping our fragile little sister wouldn't get a good glimpse around us. If Blossom had freaked out, Bubbles would break down crying. Or worse.

After about five minutes of silence had passed, I let my eyes wander back over to my little sister. She was staring at one of the TV-covered walls with a broken look on her face. She sighed.

"So… uh… what's up?" I asked tentatively. Her head rolled on the back of the chair to face me, and a frown was placed upon her normally smiling face.

"Boomer tricked me," She muttered, and her eyebrows knit together in frustration.

"He tricked you?" Blossom repeated, craning her neck forward to look around me at Bubbles. "How?"

"He pretended to like me, and I didn't know who he was." That was Bubbles. Always so happy, always so trusting. She looked hurt. Even though Boomer was a total jackass, I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Blossom gave her a sympathetic look, too.  
"It's okay, kid. You can beat the crap out of him once we get out of here," I told her.

"Beat the crap out of who?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin. That husky, deep voice had come from right behind me. I looked up slowly to see smug forest green eyes looking down at me.

"Butch, get a life," I snarled.

"Coming from a girl who is currently strapped into a chair," He said, walking around the theatre seats to stand in front of us, "I would have to say my life is pretty full."

"What do you want, asshole?" Blossom demanded. I smiled. My big sister seldom used profanities.

"Nothing as of now, princess," He assured her in a bad impersonation of a general reporting to an officer of higher authority.

She rolled her eyes and looked away. Bubbles also averted her gaze. I did nothing of the sort. I glared up at him with sullen eyes, refusing to be defeated by his surly words and attitude.

"Alright then, why are you here?" I growled.

"Because I enjoy your company, Sunshine!"

If there was some form of glass beside me, and I could have picked it up, I would have hurled it at him. I hated to be mocked. Apparently he did too, because he knew my weakness without even getting to know me. Then again, we were counterparts. Without even talking, we knew everything about each other. I continued to glare at him.

Suddenly the mocking grin on his face transformed into a fearsome scowl. "I came to tell you about the fall of your little civilization."

My eyes widened, and my sisters' heads snapped up.

"WHAT?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**

**Hola! Here's yet another chapter :)**

**Thanks so much for the reviews/followers/favorit-ers! **

**Monkey-Lover-25: Yes, Cliffhangeys are fun, right? :P**

**The-writing-vampire: Haha, thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for writing down questions. They help me try to evaluate on something if it's unclear :)**

**Meli31295: Thanks! :)**

**Animeskullgirl16: Thanks for loving it! And yeah, they hate each other, but it's secretly love, of course! ;)**

**ChocoCreamChu: I made it kind of cryptic, I agree. Now I kind of hate the way I put that… this chapter should clear that little sentence up :)**

**Vwvanlover: Sigh… sarcasm is amazing :)**

**AutumnBlaze: Thanks! I thought sarcasm would fit Butch well. Hahaha.**

**And thanks to 14Checker, tomboy101chick, DuckxDuck, and pinkdisaster for favoriting the story! :)**

**So, I know I did Buttercup's POV in the last chapter, but I'm going to do it in this chapter too, ONLY BECAUSE the only boy at the start of it is Butch. Please stay tuned, though! This next chapter will probably have an RRB POV because of how many reviewers said I should do it.**

**Chapter 5**

(Buttercup's POV)

I refused to crumple. I refused to look weak. I wouldn't let that snide little comment get to me. But then again… his face. That face. It had been so convincing the way he looked when he said it. Instead of talking, I let leader-girl do the work.

"Excuse me?" Blossom choked out. Bubbles stayed silent. I glanced over at my blonde little sister and saw a tear leak over her long eyelashes and slide down her cheek.

Butch heaved a sigh of exasperation. "I _said _that your civilization—meaning your city—is going to _fall. _And if you don't know what that means—"

"I know what it means, bozo!" Blossom interrupted him, "But why are you doing it? And how?"

Fear gnawed at me in my stomach. All of our villains had disappeared. Were they going to call everyone together to overcome our city? All of our loved ones would surely die!

"We're doing it because we _can_," Butch sneered. "And as for how, Boomer and Brick are actually out doing that right now."

"Why aren't you with them?" I asked him in disgust. I was actually surprised he wasn't out causing random havoc in stupid places.

"Because I'm better at explaining things in ways you can actually _understand_,"He muttered. "One of us had to stay and babysit, and the baby himself didn't volunteer this time."

"So… are we finally going to get some answers?" Blossom prompted him, ignoring the baby part and only focusing on the words he had mentioned about explaining things.

He smiled a little smile that would have taken my breath away if it weren't for the circumstances, or his personality. He walked over to a little table by the door and picked up a square object. I couldn't make out what it was until he was in front of us again. In his hands he held a remote. He turned and aimed the remote at the TV directly above his head and pressed the red power button. The technology buzzed, and then came to life.

I burst out laughing.

"Jersey Shore?" I laughed, and he quickly realized that it was on the MTV channel.

"Damn it," He cussed quietly and pressed a few buttons, and then the channel changed abruptly.

He smiled when a lady dressed in business clothes popped up in front of a blue background. The News.

"Ah… good. It's exactly on time," Butch sighed contentedly, and he sat down cross-legged right in front of me. I looked down at him with disgust, and upon seeing my face, he leaned back against my legs. I tried to kick out at him, but he pressed harder against me and I couldn't move my legs.

Ugh! Stupid boy!

"Some familiar icons were spotted in the sky today," The reporter began, "These icons were banned about six years ago, when a new law was made." A picture was enlarged on the screen. It was a bit blurry, but the point was made. The image was the blue sky outside with two streaks speeding across it. One was light blue, the other was pink.

"But, how?" Blossom shrieked, "We've been here the whole time!" We all knew that Boomer and Brick's colors were dark blue and red! How could they have made themselves different colors?

Butch laughed. "We have ways."

"Not only have the Power Puff Girls broken the law of not ever using their powers again, they've also committed several crimes throughout the morning." Videos of hooded blue and pink figures shoving through crowds, robbing stores, and stealing from civilians also popped up on the screen around the newslady. They were too blind to realize that the build of these strange characters were large and bulky like men and not thin and shapely like women. My sisters and I gawked. They were pretending to be us!  
"The Government predicts that if this behavior continues, the whole city of Townsville will be burned completely to the ground by next week." The woman continued, making her face grow uneasy. "In other news," She began again, perking up in that fake newscasters way, but I didn't get to hear the rest because Butch lifted his arm and calmly clicked off all of the televisions.

I looked over at Bubbles. Her face was now tearstained. The poor thing. She hated violence. My gaze flicked over to Blossom. Her face was pale. I was sure that my face was bright red with rage.

Suddenly, another realization his me.

"You brought us here so we could watch you guys destroy our home on TV and not be able to do anything about it," I said quietly.

Butch looked up at me with ecstatic green eyes. "Good! You finally get it!"

"BUTCH YOU ASSHOLE!" I shrieked, starting to reel off a line of profanities, but I was interrupted as I heard the door creak open. Butch jumped to his feet.

"Y'know, Boomer, pink is _really _not my color," Came Brick's voice. Boomer stayed silent. I was beginning to wonder if his vocal chords had been damaged so he couldn't speak. I hadn't heard one word from him.

Then the most surprising thing happened as Brick rounded the corner. Blossom started hyperventilating in anger.

"When we get out of this, you guys are gonna wish you were never born!" She snarled, "We'll make sure you'll never be succeeded, that you'll never see another scared face, or breathe another wicked breath or form another evil smile! You'll be so dead, you'll make the dead and rotting look alive again!"

Butch and Brick made a gagging sound, which of course was fake.

"What are you talking about, Brainiac?" Brick asked as he crinkled up his nose in disgust. "We walked in here, and I was calmly talking to Boomer about how I look awful in pink, and you started preaching to us about the dead!"

"You _know _what I'm talking about you… you—jerk!"

Ooh, that was a shocker. For the first time in a long time, Blossom couldn't find a big word that described something. She'd used one of my vocabulary words. Actually, no. I would've said something more offending and gender-related. Bubbles would've said, "jerk."

Brick took a breath to say something, but then something sparked in his eyes and he spun around to face Butch.

"You told them?" He snarled, "You were supposed to sit outside the door to make sure they didn't get out, and not tell them until we got here!"

Butch shrugged. "I couldn't resist a good dramatic scene."

"You're such an ignorant little piece of shit, you know that?" Brick muttered, inching closer to his brother and pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Well, you're the irritating ass! And who are you calling _little? _I'm taller than you, buddy!" Butch fired back. It was true. Butch was a good two inches taller than the red Rowdy Ruff.

"It's _whom _are you calling little. Not _who. _Get the grammar right."

"I don't give a damn about grammar."

Wow. They sounded exactly like Blossom and I when we bickered.

We watched them argue for the next few minutes, our eyes flicking from face to face as they spoke and inched closer to one another. There was going to be a fight any minute. I looked over at Bubbles, who would have usually broken us up by now if she were around. I searched the room for Boomer, and he was there, of course. Weren't they supposed to be exactly the same? Why wasn't he doing anything?

When Butch and Brick were about a nose hair apart, I couldn't stand the fight anymore. I was so wound up I was about ready to turn to Blossom and start arguing with her just for the heck of it.

"Well," I said loudly, "Since Butch just gave us the big picture, maybe you could fill us in."

Brick paused in his next insult and turned towards us. "Why should I?"  
I nudged Blossom as well as I could since I was still tied up. It was her job to trick him into giving us more information than he should. She was good at doing that. While Brick was smart, just like Blossom, his pride was worse. He wouldn't let it be downed, I recalled, from the last time we'd been against him and his brothers.

"Because maybe if you tell us something _we _don't know, we'll tell you something _you _don't know," She said. I raised an eyebrow. What was she talking about? We didn't know anything. We hadn't been a real team for 6 years, and we hadn't fought evil together for that long, either!

Brick raised an eyebrow also, but for a different reason. "And why should I trust that you're telling the truth?"

"You can't. I can't trust your story either, now can I?"

"You make a point," He mused, scratching his chin.

"I have an idea," Butch said suddenly. "We'll tell you something, with no extra cost. You won't have to tell us anything. You get the info, and we walk out of here and we'll see you later tonight after we go cause havoc again. Deal?"

While I didn't like the bargain too much—it wasn't even a "bargain" since we weren't contributing anything—it was the best we had. And besides, what information could we give them? That our toothbrushes were pink, green, and blue like they'd always been?

I looked to Blossom. I was giving her full responsibility like I had in the past. If we failed, she could take it. She could make it better. I couldn't.

I remember a few years ago, I'd been on the basketball team. I'd been a star player because sometimes I secretly gave myself a little boost with my powers so I could make a few slam-dunks at games. I had always made sure that it wasn't noticeable.

One time though, I'd gone a bit too far. My foot had accidentally snagged someone's arm from my team, and we had both been sent flying into the wall. I had been okay, of course, but my teammate hadn't been. She'd broken her leg, and she would forever limp—never to play basketball again. Of course she had to be one of the best players on the team. Of course she had been trying to get a sports scholarship. I had ruined it for her all because of one boneheaded move. I had never forgiven myself, and to show how sorry I was for the accident, I had dropped out of basketball too, and had never played again.

I was sent back to the present when Blossom uttered the word: "Deal."

I knew I would regret it when Brick and Butch's faces lit up with pleasure.

"I hope that the news is on our side today," Butch murmured as he flicked the news back on.

"It will," Brick responded, and he turned his head to watch the News.

The lady was reporting on something about pollution when suddenly she gasped. "This just in, the father of the Power Puff Girls has been arrested! The icon of the Power Puff Girls has proved that he never stripped them of their powers. Astonishing!" I would've snapped at those words anyway because of the meaning they held, but when my father's picture popped up onto the screen behind bars, I let out a huge shriek.

I thrashed in my chair, knowing that I had to get out. My anger was renewed. I wasn't going to let anyone try and calm me down again. I was screaming at the top of my lungs in rage and trying to use all the strength in me to escape, even though it was to no avail. I was sure that Blossom's face was composed in a mask of rage and hate, but she wasn't screaming like I was. I heard Bubble's sniffles from beside me. How different we all were: The chivalrous leader, the raging beast, and the sensitive sweetheart.

Butch and Brick burst out in cruel laughter and shuffled out of the room, pushing Boomer out in front of them.

As the door closed and the room went dark, I kept screaming. I would scream until my lungs gave out—and due to my superhuman powers, that would be a long time.

You could destroy the farmers market, the gas station and even a school, but you could _not _imprison Professor Utonium.

The Rowdy Ruff Boys would pay, and they would pay dearly for what they had done.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**

**Alright, so here's that promised RRB POV chapter. While you may be a bit disappointed in me, I'm doing it from Boomer's point of view. If you've noticed, he hasn't talked much in the past couple of chapters. Actually, he hasn't talked at all. I just have to say that Boomer isn't my favorite RRB, just in case you were wondering. Hehe.**

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed/favorited!**

**Meli31295: Yeah, I thought Buttercup would be more memorable in her, "I'm going to slaughter you!" moments :)**

**Ppgrulz123- I'm glad you think it's suspenseful, and that you love it! Thanks :)**

**The-writing-vampire: I'm gonna try my best to make a violent Buttercup/Boys scene (I hope.) I still haven't written that part out yet, hehe. And also, once again, the questions REALLY help! Thanks for them. And don't worry; the answers to most of the questions will come. In time.**

**Monkey-Lover-25: :)**

**AutumnBlayze: I'm glad you laughed at the MTV bit! I was actually watching that while writing the chapter. I also really tried to make distinctions between characters, also.**

**And thanks to powerpuffan28 for adding this story to their favorites!**

**Anyway…**

**Disclaimerito: I do not own the Powerpuff girls, nor do I own the Rowdy Ruff boys, Professor Utonium, and/or Townsville. This may sound stupid, but the only thing I own is the gas station… and my ideas of course!**

**Chapter 6**

(Boomer's POV)

I sunk down into the over-stuffed chair behind the desk and studied my hands—which I'd placed on my lap. I twiddled my thumbs anxiously as my brothers talked uproariously.

"Alright, alright, do Blossom again," Brick boomed, another fit of laughter escaping him as he stalked into the room.

Butch came in behind him and cleared his throat, standing before us.

"You guys are going to wish you were never born!" He began in a squeaky, feminine voice, "You're gonna walk with the dead, and eat the eyeballs of fish, and make toasters for a living!"

That wasn't really anything close to what she'd said, but Brick laughed anyway. Butch had a way. He could make people scream in frustration, but he could also make them pee their pants with laughter.

After Brick had finished laughing, he sighed in contentment and fell back onto a cushiony couch that was pushed up against the wall.

We had taken up this gas station for two reasons: One, the food and electricity were still bountiful, even though the station was abandoned. (For once, we hadn't forced the workers of the gas station to evacuate. The place had been desolate from the beginning.) Two: there were plenty little side rooms—one in which we kept the girls, a couple in which we had placed couches just in case we got sick of each other and wanted to sleep in another room, and then in this one was where we had decided to set up. "Base camp" we called the room.

We'd found that it was already an office upon arriving here. The room was bigger than the others. The walls were white—to no surprise to us. Chevron was cheap in decorating. There was cheap brown carpet beneath our feet. It was kind of filthy, but being boys, we didn't care. The desk had already been there, no computer needed. We had found the two fake brown leather couches and chair in a storage closet, and we'd pushed them into the room. We'd taken one of the TVs we'd stolen and had placed it on a wobbly wooden table and then pushed it up against the western wall. Why? So we could monitor the PowerPuff Girls' every move. They'd failed to notice that we had hammered several security cameras into the walls above their heads. We knew what they were doing 24/7. We always knew what they were screaming about, if they were sleeping, or if they were arguing with each other. We'd figured them out during their first night here. I'd found this impolite, but both Butch and Brick had scoffed at me and called me a baby.

"Did you see the looks on their faces?" Butch sighed, reveling in the memory. "They were so terrified, I wanted to find the footage and send it off to the next "Saw" production crew!"

"Pretty brilliant plan I must say," Brick began to drawl as he bragged over his "awesomeness."

I let myself fade away from them, and my head swiveled over towards the TV screen, where the PowerPuff Girls were displayed. Buttercup was still huffing and screaming, and Blossom was muttering something—A plan or words of wisdom no doubt. My eyes fell on one person in particular though: Bubbles.

I'd been all for this plan in the beginning. I wanted revenge for all of the times we'd got our butts kicked, or had been spit at, or laughed at, or belittled, or kissed against our wills, or embarrassed. I wanted revenge just like my brothers had, but it had changed when I'd gone to play my part of the bargain.  
It had started out like planned. I'd snuck into football practice, got my ass handed to me on purpose, and had taken my sweet time getting up after my "team" was dismissed. Brick had taken Blossom off of my hands without a problem as promised, and Bubbles was there; sitting on the bleachers.

I'd seen her out of the corner of my eye, but I'd pretended not to and had turned around to view one of the buildings. Her sweet sing-song voice had made me turn around. I'd originally been planning to just stare at the building and not make eye contact with her like the cool guy I'd been hoping to be, but that plan had failed miserably. I had found myself turning to face her, and my heart dropped into my ribs.

Shit. She was _gorgeous. _

There was pretty. Pretty was an actress on a movie with her hair done-up by stylists and her makeup beautifully applied. Gorgeous? I hadn't seen gorgeous until I'd laid eyes on Bubbles as a teenager. She hadn't been wearing makeup, and her hair was just normal—messy almost, since it was just after her cheerleading practice. Those pretty, sky-blue eyes had been looking up at me with slight interest, and those big full lips had asked me a question. PLAY IT COOL, I'd told myself. I couldn't though, of course. I was so stupid.

I'd spoiled my entire plan when I'd let her ask me if we could go eat. I knew I was in for it. She was already so irresistible. Now I was getting the chance to actually _know _her. When I'd found myself buying her food, I knew I had to end it before it got too far. My brothers were a fearsome pair when they were both pissed off at me for the same reason at the same time. As soon as I'd found a small window of opportunity, I'd taken it.

When she'd said my name, I regretted my decision immediately. Maybe she would have understood if I'd told her! Maybe she would have let me take her away to safety! We could have saved both Buttercup _and _Blossom from my brothers, and then we could have saved Townsville! I would have been her hero. We would've fallen in love like those freaking fairy tales I'd always heard about but never had the guts to read because I thought my brothers might catch me and make fun of me. But no. I had jacked it up.

Now she was pissed at me. She wouldn't even look at me. She hated me. These thoughts circulated through my head so much, that I hadn't heard Butch's question the first time he'd asked it.

"Helloooo? Earth to Boomer!" His deep, husky voice boomed, and he waved his hand in front of my face, snapping me out of my day-dream.

"Oh, sorry. I'm tired," I sighed.

"Bullshit!" Brick muttered from over on the couch.

"You're not gonna _betray _us? Are ya Boomie?" Butch prompted. "'Cause I've seen the way you've been lookin' at Barbie."

"Psh, what're talkin' about?" I muttered, not meeting his forest green eyes.

"Oh, don't play density with me."

"Dense," Brick corrected, holding a finger up. "Density's a science term. You mean dense, which is a synonym for stupid."  
"Yeah, thanks," Butch growled sarcastically, looking over towards our red-headed brother, "I really needed that, Brick."

He looked at me again to my dismay.

"So… about you and Barbie." He began, narrowing his eyes as he watched me squirm.

"They all have names you know," I muttered.

"Uh huh, I know that. I just _choose _to call them that."

"You're so annoying."

"You are too, baby boy!" Butch fired back. I refused to let myself come up with a stinging reply. If I chose to fight with him, feelings would be hurt—most likely mine. Not that I was weak or anything.

He took my silence as defeat.

"So, anyway, that little crush you have there…"

"I DO NOT!" I snarled.

He snorted. "If you don't have a crush on Bubbles, then I'm a piece of cow shit."

"You _are_," Brick snickered.

"Hey, shut up, will ya? I'm trying to prove a point!" Butch yelled over at Brick, then he turned his head towards me again.

"Don't deny it, bro. You find little miss exulsant attractive."

"Exultant!" Brick corrected.  
"I don't give two squirts of piss what it really is, at least I'm trying to use bigger words, alright?" Butch growled.

Brick held up his hands in the international "back off" gesture, and remained silent.

Butch turned towards me _again._ That statement registered in those green eyes I'd known forever. _Admit it. Admit it. Admit it._

I was silent. Butch and Brick leaned forward to hear my confession.

I shrugged, and looked over towards the screen again. I wouldn't confess. I was stronger than that. I was stupid for letting it happen, and I wasn't going to be even stupider—which would happen if I admitted my mistake.

"Alright, fine, play Mr. Silent," Brick laughed, and he leaned back onto the couch. "We'll get it out of you one way or another."

For the first time in a long time, that room was almost silent—apart from the screen and speakers that allowed us to watch our prisoners. We watched the girls on the screen for a few minutes. To my surprise, Buttercup was _still _screaming! How long had it been, fifteen minutes?

Almost as if he had read my mind, Butch burst out laughing. "Damn, that little bucket of Sunshine! She's _still _really hard to shut up!"

Brick shrugged. "Sounds just like you."

My brothers started to argue again, like they'd done minutes ago. They were always extremely close to a fight, but they'd brush it off before it got really serious.

There had only been one time where it had ended really badly.

They'd started fighting over girls, actually.

The only thing we hadn't really lied about was the fact that we hadn't been going to the Townsville High School. We'd actually been going to a school about an hour away—Cougarville High School (Home of the Cougars.)

I really was the quarterback there, and Brick really was nominated as an early Valedictorian. Butch? I couldn't say much about him except for the fact that he was the leader of the rebellious skaters clique.

A new chick had come to the school. I had to give her the credit of being pretty. She wasn't gorgeous though, not like Bubbles.

She had long auburn hair that went all the way down to her hips, and a pretty face, but she wasn't too smart. Butch and Brick hadn't really cared about that part, though. They'd gone for her immediately. At the same time, too.

They'd each taken her out on a date, each doing a different thing because they were both completely different boys. They hadn't known that they had both taken her out, though, so when they both found out, it was hell.

Brick had gone to the skate park where Butch was, and they'd torn up the whole place. It had taken the construction crews months to refill the body prints and holes all over the concrete.

In the end, Butch had gotten so pissed off that he disappeared, and didn't come back for an entire month. Brick had actually gotten worried, and had been so relieved when our middle brother had come back. They'd promised to never fight so hard again, and had ignored the girl from then on.

I was never worried about their fights anymore.

"So… how 'bout I order a pizza?" I interrupted another rude remark from Brick, and my suggestion was highly considered by both of them.

"Yeah!" Butch said after awhile, "Get me a 16" with… uh… chocolate and… extra cheese and steak."

"What if they don't have it?"

"_Make them have it."_

I shrugged. Butch liked weird pizza. After getting Bricks' order of just Canadian bacon and pineapple, I walked out of the room and slammed the door behind me.

I made my way through that gas station, ignoring all of the bric-a-brac on the many shelves and found the front door. Before I pushed it open, however, I looked back at that door that was currently hiding her. I sighed. What the hell was I going to do?

I pushed the door open, and walked over to my car. I took my time getting into it, and after sitting in it for a few more heartbeats, I cranked the radio up, and backed out of the parking lot.

I began to think again. What _was _I going to do? What had the dudes done in the movies when they accidentally hurt a girl? Didn't they sing outside of the girls' window or something? But I couldn't do that. I didn't have a window, and Brick and Butch would hear me. A slight idea came to mind. It might be a little risky, but at least I would get to apologize. Hopefully. It all depended on if she would listen.

As I thought of all the possibilities, I came up on the highway. And for the first time in a long time, I went a little above the speed limit.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**

**Hello again! Back for more? (Thanks for coming back, by the way.)**

**So, I'm doing a PPG POV in this chapter. It's not Buttercup. I've already done three chapters from her point of view. That doesn't mean I'll stop with her, but I'm going to take a little break. It would be extremely helpful if maybe you could comment on who you think I should write a POV of? I haven't done Brick or Butch yet, and I promise that will be written when the time is right, but so far, whose point of view have you enjoyed reading the most?**

**And also, thanks so much for reviewing/favoriting/following!**

**Meli32195: Yeah, I thought Boomer'd most likely be the sensitive one, because Bubbles is. And the sensitive ones fall head-over-heels first right? :)**

**Ppgrulz123: Thanks, I think Jersey Shore is hilarious, and thought it might be funny if the "accidentally" happened in the story. :)**

**Vwvanlover- I'm glad you could see Butch's impression of Blossom clear in your head! I really strive for that. And thanks, I'll keep trying to upload a chapter daily ;)**

**Monkey-Lover-25: Yeah… I thought Butch should try and expand on his vocab a little haha.**

**Canzie: Thanks for reviewing! And yeah, cliffhangers are almost irresistible. It's so easy to write something cryptic down that only the author will understand :)**

**KeroNya: Thanks! I try to make it interesting :)**

**Laurenv20: Secretly, Buttercup is my favorite too. I just couldn't bring myself to alter that feisty attitude of hers. It's too classic!**

**The-writing-vampire: Cayenne pepper in chocolate pudding? That actually sounds kind of good… I guess chocolate could use a little spice! And, yes, Brick is a bit immature, but I had the exact same thought in mind. Girls DO mature faster than boys. Actually, a couple of those questions will be answered in the chapter :D**

**Pink Moon Witch: Heehee. It makes me happy when my reviewers tell me to hurry :)**

**And thanks to KeroNya, laurenv20, Pink Moon Witch, and SunRose-01 for favoriting and/or adding this story to their alerts! (Also, if I forgot to reply to your comment, or put your name down, it's a complete accident. I'm a busy girl, and my inbox is kind of clogged, so I might not have seen the email with the comment or update thing.)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own The PowerPuff Girls.**

**Chapter 7**

(Bubbles POV)

The second night in that horrible place, my dreams were filled with terror. Actually, a dream wasn't the word for that. Nightmare wasn't even terrifying enough to describe what I had seen.

It had started out great; I had been sitting in a field, enjoying a nice view of a meadow. Call me cliché, or a little girl, but I had imagined a pretty mountain in the distance with a waterfall spiraling down from it, and a rainbow touching the blue depths at the bottom. I hadn't been thinking about it, but I had made the water color the shade of someone's blue eyes… There was wildlife everywhere. There were different species of animals that varied from deer to sheep to narwhal, really anything I could imagine. I had even placed some peaceful dinosaurs and unicorns in my Utopia of dreams.

Anyway, I had been sitting on a yellow picnic blanket, admiring the scenery when all of a sudden, the sky had split open. It hadn't just broken in two like an egg, that's not what I mean, but suddenly, out of nowhere, thunder cracked and a bolt of lightning struck my meadow.

I had yelped, jumped to my feet, and had begun to sprint over to the scene, hoping no animals or plants had been hurt. All of my beautiful creatures were racing to the cover of the waterfall and the mountain for safety and it made my heart break. No one was supposed to be afraid here! Especially not the ones I loved.

I had reached the spot where I thought the lightning hit. It wasn't hard to find. I could see the parched spot of burning grass and bare ground from 100 meters away.

I fell to my knees and began to sob, because in front of me… was a dying fawn.

It was barely four months old I guessed, judging from its' size and the tiny white dots that speckled its light peach pelt. Its blue eyes were glazed over in fear and pain, and they were as blue as the water. My eyes traveled down from its beautiful head and down to its body where I choked back yet another sob. A horrible hole had been plunged between the poor baby's neck and heart, right where its shoulder blade was. The blood was pouring out onto the bare, cracked ground below me, and I tried not to gag as I examined the wound. The fawn was still breathing.

I couldn't see the ground through the hole, so I hoped that it hadn't been gouged deep enough to do any horrid damage, but I should have known better. The veins that made blood circulate from its heart to its brain had been severed, and it died moments later.

I let my shoulders sag and let out a huge moan, looking down upon my poor creature. What had caused that sudden lightning strike? What had made this beautiful thing suffer so much?

Something nudged my shoulder from behind me. It was a firm nudge, but it was also gentle. I ignored it the first time. When the nudge was repeated, I turned around. I found myself looking at the standing body of a pretty, also light-toned doe; the fawn's mother.

"I'm sorry," I sobbed burying my face in my animal's chest. "I wish I could've helped. It was my fault, I let my guard down. I couldn't protetct this place."

"It wasn't your fault, Bubbles," Came the soft reply. I jumped in alarm and looked up at the Doe's face, wanting to find those beautiful features that I recognized of the graceful deer. Instead, I found myself looking up at the face of none other than Professor Utonium.  
"Professor?" I coughed out. I couldn't believe my eyes right now.

"Bubbles, you have to learn to forget. You have to let your guard down sometimes, even though it can get you hurt," He continued. I ignored the fact that my father's head was on the body of a deer, and looked up at him, taking in his words.

"But… but it scares me," I whimpered. I hated getting hurt. It made my heart ache.

The professor's throaty chuckle escaped his mouth, "Forgive, Bubbles. It might be the only chance to save what you love."

I nodded and looked down at my knees, as I was still kneeling. The professor made a sweet whinnying sound and nudged his head against my cheek affectionately. I tried again to forget how weird it was that his face was on the body of a deer. I was used to being loved by the animal, but with the professor's head on it? That was kind of creepy….

Lost in my own thoughts, I hadn't heard his words.

"Bubbles."  
"Huh?" I asked softly, looking up at him. He lifted his hoof and pointed with it behind me where the mutilated fawn should be.

"Look," He whispered.

I turned to, once again, look upon that gruesome sight. Instead, something new greeted me.

Instead of a fawn lying there, it was a boy. He was dressed in jeans, a white T-shirt, and Nikes. His blonde hair was messy, muddy, and blood-caked. He was lying face-down in the dirt, so I couldn't see his face, but I already knew who he was. The most shocking thing was that in the middle of his back was that same bloody gouge that had been in the fawn.

"Boomer," I whispered, biting back more tears. I understood now.

I woke up to someone nudging me, and I turned around drowsily and opened up my eyes. I half expected for a doe with Professor's face to be standing behind me.

"Bubbles," Came that whisper. My eyesight was blurry, and I couldn't make out who was there. For all I knew, it could be another dream. Or…dare I hope? Maybe Buttercup or Blossom had escaped, and we were getting out of here! But then… why had I had that dream?

"Bubbles," The gentle sound was closer to my ear.  
"What are you doing?" I muttered irritably, turning my head to face Buttercup whom was on my right side.

The only response I got from her was a soft snore. My eyes opened a little bit wider now, and I blinked a few times. I craned my neck to peer around my dark-haired sister.  
"Blossom?" I whispered, but I saw her too. All three of us were contained still. That could only mean…

I whipped back around, coming face-to-face with none other than…

Boomer.

"What do you want?" I asked, ignoring my dream for the time being. I had planned to be hostile, but it had come out more fearful than I had requested of my voice. I was always so bad at masking my feelings. Why couldn't I be more forceful like Buttercup?

"I came to…" He started, but he faltered. His dark blue eyes drifted to his feet, and he took another breath to start again. Yet again, he couldn't find the words.  
"Came to what?" I demanded, but softly. There it was again! Why couldn't I be harsher? It was totally against my nature, but why couldn't I just _try _it?

"I came to apologize," He finally said, "About what I did. I-I led you on, and then I knocked you out, and deceived you and stuff, and then I brought you here and you've been treated so badly… I'm just so, so sorry."

His words hit my heart like he had just sent a bullet through me. Wow. He'd said it with so much sincerity. I took a breath to reply, but he continued to ramble.

"It's just that… I agreed to do this, and I didn't want to go back on my word, so I had to ignore all of… uh… _that… _and I had to just do what I was supposed to before Butch and Brick got made at me, alright? I didn't want my already blooming feelings for you to-" I put my finger in front of his mouth as best as I could to shush him. After all, everyone else was asleep.

"It's okay," I whispered.

"I-it is?" I nodded. His apology had meant much more than him just letting me go, or something of the sort. It made me feel like he wasn't that deceiving jerk that I'd thought he was. Now I almost regretted wanting to get back at him.

"I just wanted you to know how sorry I am," He said in barely a whisper, looking away.

"Why are you sorry?" I asked softly, this time trying to be gentle.

He whipped his head around to stare at me with those deep blue eyes, and even in the dark, I could see a light blush form on his face. "Well… uh… you're so nice and stuff. It just made me feel bad."  
I smirked. "My sisters are nice, would you do the same for them?"  
I saw that glint in his eye, and I suppressed a giggle. "Okay… Blossom's nice, and Buttercup is occasionally. Would you do the same for them?" I rephrased the question.

He looked down at his shoes again, appearing deep in thought. After a few heartbeats that lasted like centuries, he looked up at me.  
"I don't think so," He murmured. I looked at him expectantly, urging him softly to go on with the look on my face. "There's… there's some weird feeling I get when I'm around you. I like it."

Now it was my turn to blush. I looked down at the floor, contemplating those words. My dream came back to me. _Forgive, Bubbles. It might be the only chance to save what you love._

Honesty was the best policy. And for once, I felt more than just a mild attraction to the boy. I _really _felt something here.

"I think I feel that way, too." I replied.

The look in those gorgeous eyes made me smile. "A-Are you serious?" He stammered.

I nodded. "Mm Hmm."

He bit his lip then, and he looked down at the floor again. There was a heavy silence between us, and my heart started to beat frantically.

"Is… is there something wrong?" I whispered, feeling my hopes begin to plummet to the bottom of a chasm.

He emitted a small chuckle, and he looked up at me again. "Nah," He whispered.

And then I was caught up in so much emotion, as he did something so little and so sweet that it swept me off my feet. He leaned over, and he placed the tiniest little kiss on my lips. It was so sincere… so beautiful.

In that moment, I thought that I might want more, but what he had done was so satisfying, that I complied without complaint. The touch of his lips on mine had warmed my entire body from the tips of my pigtails to the soles of my shoes.

He got up after a short pause. "Don't tell anyone, 'kay?" He whispered.

I nodded. I wasn't planning to anyway. My entire life, my relationships had been a public thing. Everyone had always known whom I was dating. Now, it was private. So private. I wanted to leap for joy though, because of whom I liked. We weren't actually seeing each other, but that little intimate moment had been enough for my feeling for him to skyrocket. He gave me a little shy smile, and then he stole out of the room as quiet as he had come in.

A huge grin spread across my lips, and I leaned back in my seat. Glancing over at my sisters, my grin faltered. This was something that they could never know… This was one of the first secrets that I would ever keep from them.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**

'**Ello! It be time for Chapter 8!**

**Mucho apologies for the big delay… Surprise trip to visit the family.**

**Much thanks for the reviews, followers, and favoriters!**

**Meli31295: Thanks! :)**

**Ppgrulz123: Awesome! I'm glad you love it ;)**

**The-writing-vampire: Thankies for the Qs! Some of the romantic questions will be answered in this chapter! And I must confess, I often stay up till about 11 PM just reading fan-fics haha. Late night reviewing is so awesome =3**

**Animeskullgirl16: Yes, anger! And thanks! I thought Boomer/Bubbles would be the more humble love-birds. And, yup, a doe-head-dad would be weird! But then again, we've all had at least one weird dream like that, right?**

**Vwvanlover: Yeah, there will be fluff soon. There's some fluff in this chapter… I'm hoping everyone will be able to spot it!**

**KeroNya: Awstacualare? Thank you! I think I'll use that word from now on. And I'm so happy that you're addicted! (That sounds kind of messed up. Haha.)**

**Sundepender: Thanks!**

**Canzie: Thanks! I'm glad you think that they're awesome! :)**

**AutumnBlayze: Alright, I will get a Blossom POV up soon! I like writing from her POV, but not as much as I enjoy the angrier characters POVS. And thanks, I'm glad you think that the way I write about Boomer/Bubbles is adorable! Haha.**

**MissTiraMissSu: Thanks so much! And I do try to make my grammar as neat as possible, although I do try to put some slang in there because I'm not writing an English paper ;) **

**Wildone97: Good! The doe-head thing was supposed to be creepy haha. And you'll actually see what happens with the cameras in this chapter ;)**

**And gracias to sundepender, Joydream, MissTiraMissSu, and Wildone97 for favoriting and/or following ;). (Once again, if I accidentally skipped posting your name, or replying to your comment, it's an accident and I haven't done it on purpose.)  
So… recently I have noticed that I have been depriving myself and my readers of something…**

**Butch's POV.**

**It's fun to write, and I have no idea why I didn't do it sooner. Anyways, I've been getting some comments asking for Butch's POV, so… here it is!**

**Preeettty Plleeassee enjoy, and leave a comment on what you think! Hopefully this will be your favorite chapter so far :P**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the PPGS or the RRBS.**

**Chapter 8**

(Butch POV)

I walked in through the front door to be greeted by the spicy yet sweet smell of good cooking. I could almost _see_ the scent particles wafting to me through the air of the tiny 2-bedroom house. I appraised the living room, and noticed with satisfaction that it had been cleaned. The plush, chocolate brown carpet had vacuum tracks on it, the mahogany coffee table and short yet elegant cabinet that held the television had been dusted and polished, the windows were streak-free, and the brown leather couches seemed to be a bit shinier. Not wanting to ruin the perfection, I opened up the hall-closet to my left and selected a hanger, slid the sleeves of my black leather jacket up into the right places, replaced the hanger, and closed the door quietly. I touched the picture frame on the ivory colored wall next to the closet, smiling to myself as I examined the people looking back at me.

Now I could not only smell something heavenly coming from the kitchen, but I could hear something too. The unmistakable sound of Rage Against the Machine filled my ears, along with a familiar voice singing along. I emitted a tiny chuckle, and moved quietly across the living room and stood outside the doorway.

Feeling a bit self-conscious all of a sudden, I ran a hand through my wet black hair. I looked across the room and glared through a window at the rain that was currently pummeling the ground with fury. Concentrating so hard on something that constantly moved made me a bit dizzy after a long day at work. I took a deep breath and stole into the kitchen to greet one of the other residents of the house.

A bright smile lit my glistening face when I saw the person standing at the oven, stirring a big pot of who-knew-what. Their hips swayed a bit as they continued to sing along to the rap song.

I shuffled forward and wrapped my arms around her, resting my head on her shoulder as I watched her work. The scents of potato, beef, carrot, and broth filled my nose and I inhaled deeply.

"Wat'cha makin'?" I breathed flirtatiously into her ear. She giggled softly, but refused to look at me.  
"Stew," She replied. She bumped the oven with her knee lightly. "There's an apple pie in there."

"Sounds good," I whispered, lightly kissing the right side of her jaw and inhaling the best scent in the world—my wife.

"But you know what sounds better?" I asked softly, pulling her away from the stovetop. She let out a small squeak and took the spoon with her as I turned her to face me.

"Butch!" She complained, but she didn't pull away. "I'm gonna burn it!"

"Then let it burn," I whispered, "I don't mind having a microwave dinner as long as I can get something else…." I pressed my lips to hers in a soft, yet passionate kiss, and I felt her lips curl up into a smile. She pulled away.

"Then that's what you'll eat," She said, trying not to laugh. "Besides, Beck just got home from wrestling practice, and he can eat like a monster when he's hungry. The more there is in the pot, the less complaints I'll have before bedtime."

I took a breath to start a playful argument, but I was interrupted.

"Hey, pop!" Came a half-squeaky, half-deep voice. It was a bit rasp like mine had been as a teen, but he would grow out of it.

"Hey, Beck," I greeted my son; opening up my arms in the hug he should've come to. Instead, he snorted and came over to give me a high-five instead. He'd declared at eight years old that he was too old for hugs—even though he still received hugs from the female parent.

"So, how was wrestling?" I asked him, sitting down on one of the blue barstools at our granite countertop. While our house was small, that didn't mean that it was in any way plain. My wife and I had good paying jobs that both involved the media.

Each room was decorated differently. Our living room had an elegant, jazzy feeling to it. Our kitchen was decorated in glass, silver, and blue to make it look more modern. The bedroom I shared with my wife was decorated in a white Victorian style, and our bathroom was glass and in powder blue. My son's room was never the same. He'd gone through the same phases in life that I had: Tough guy, punk, goth, and as of now he was skater, just like I had been at thirteen.

"It was a'ight," Beck said, going to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of water. He opened it a bit violently and took a few gulps from it. "I knocked a couple of guys down."

"It's not all about knocking guys down, you know," My wife added in, not looking up from the meal she was preparing.

The black-haired boy shrugged his shoulders and plopped down on a barstool next to me. "I know, I know. That's just the fun part." He gave a smile. I patted his back, almost surprised to find it rock hard. He was starting to muscle up like I had at his age.

"Go do your homework," His mom ordered, "I'll call you in when dinner's ready."  
"There will be pie?"

She laughed, which made a smile spread across my face. I loved her laugh from the first moment I had heard it directed at me. It had taken her nearly twelve years to finally laugh at my jokes.

"There will be pie," She said.

Beck got up from the table with shining green eyes, kissed his mother on the cheek, and went to his room.

"He's growin' up fast, that boy of yours," I commented as I watched him stride into the living room.

"He looks just like you did," She replied.

"What, strikingly handsome? The most amazing creature to stalk the earth?"  
She giggled. "In your dreams."  
"Oh, right. The most amazing creature to stalk the earth is you."

She rolled her eyes and turned back to her cooking. "You're a kiss-up."

"Uh huh." I stood up and stood behind her again, assuming my position with my arms around her waist and my head on her shoulder.

"Butch?"  
"Yeah?"

"BUTCH!"

"What?"

And then it was gone. My dream flicked off, just like I had been watching a sit-com. My eyes flashed open and I stood up, taking a defensive position as I slammed myself against the wall.  
It took me a second to comprehend the threat, but then I noticed his red hair. My shoulders sagged in relief that I wouldn't have to fight when I wasn't fully awake.

"Brick, you scared the hell out of me!"  
He didn't say anything, but I could tell he was pissed off. His dark eyes were blazing molten lava.

_Aw, crap. _I thought, _I'm dead._

He lifted his hand, and with his finger, he pointed out the door.

With the fear of having another horrible argument with my brother again, the adrenaline spread through my veins and a smile spread across my face like it always did when my system got that familiar kick.

"What did I do now?" I mused.

He shook his head, and pointed out the door again. I ducked my head into my knees and pressed myself forward, rolling off of the bed and landing in a crouch on the floor. I stood up straight and ran a hand through my messy black hair.

"What?" I asked. Surely if he was this pissed he could tell me what was wrong.

He made a weird snarling sound and pointed out the door again, but this time with fresh anger. I followed where he was pointing after a brief hesitation, watching him out of the corner of my eye just in case he really was mad at me and he was planning on jumping me when I wasn't looking.

I stepped out into the main part of the gas station and looked around. I didn't see anything… I could see through the windows that it was still really dark outside. The moon was out, too, and I could see the moonlight reflecting off of all of our cars. I suppressed a laugh as I again soaked in the fact that my car was the biggest. It wasn't the most classic, nor was it the shiniest, but it was the biggest, and the toughest looking.

Something shoved me from behind, but I was too quick to fall to my knees and I zipped forward and out of the way. I turned to face my opponent again, but I realized it was just my older brother.

"What _is it?_" I demanded, beginning to get a bit irritated. He pointed behind me towards our base camp, and another smile spread across my face—but this time it was a sarcastic smile.

I scoffed. "What, is Boomer teasing you about Blossom again?"

His face was already bright red with his anger, but I could've sworn that he blushed even harder. A growl ripped from his throat, and he shoved me again, this time all the way into the room.

I pressed my arms against the doorway, preventing him from getting me all the way into the room. If I was going to do something, it would be of my own free will. I laughed a small maniacal laugh as he shoved me again.

"Jeez, cool it, will ya Boss Man?" I muttered in good humor. When Brick snarled in anger, I decided that it would be best to just let him push me. He seemed really angry.

Being the most level-headed brother, he usually had a lot of patience for various things. He would get exasperated if I picked on Boomer, or if one of us didn't try our best or something, but he would rarely fume. I was the fumer in the family.

When we got to the desk in the middle of the room, he stopped shoving me. My first instinct was to scan the room for anything out of the ordinary. Maybe Brick and Boomie had decided that they needed to pull a prank on me. It was a good possibility.

When I was looking under the desk, Brick spoke.

"No one's here but us and the TV."

I looked up at him, a bit startled. "Huh?"

He was leaning on the small table that supported the TV, and staring at it intently. The light and darkness of the room were playing strange shapes on his face, making his red eyes appear to be sunken in one minute, and his nose to be pig-like the next. I could clearly see the sudden disappointed look on his face, though, as he gazed at the monitor.

I got up slowly as it dawned on me what he had dragged me in here to see, and I walked over to witness what was on the screen.

At first my heart dropped into my ribcage when I identified everything that was happening. Of course it had taken me about a minute or so to notice, but when I did everything else came into play.

The first thing I noticed was that there were four people in the room. I saw Buttercup's dark head of hair that was so much like my own first, and then I saw the fire of Blossom's hair. Lastly I saw blonde and I realized it was Bubbles. Soon after that, I saw more blonde. While it took me a few seconds to realize who it was, it took me less than a heartbeat to change my mood from inquisitive to raging. Brick's anger was _nothing _compared to mine.

Boomer was associating with the _enemy!_ Worst yet, he was talking gently to her! And by choice!

The events that had played out earlier in the evening came back to me.

We'd had our fill of pizza, and both Brick and I had been tired. Boomer had noticed this, and had offered to take the regular watch of the girls until dawn while we slept in the two side rooms. We had agreed graciously, blind to the thoughts in his mind. Or at least I was. It was possible that Brick had been suspicious, but had gone along with everything, letting Boomer choose the right or wrong thing to do.

"Why are we sitting here?" I demanded, "Lets get in there and knock him around 'til his reasoning comes back!"

Brick covered my mouth with a hand, and I was suddenly aware of how much my voice had escalated.

"No." He said calmly, "There's a better way to handle this."

"A better way?" I repeated, "_A better way?_ Is your idea of a 'better way' ignoring it and letting him go ride off into the sunset with Barbie? The little shit's betraying us! I don't care _what _you say, or _what _you would do! He's gotta pay for this."

I whirled around, ready to barge into the room on the other side of the wall, but Brick stood up and with lightning-fast speed, he grabbed the hood of my jacket and jerked me back.

"You honestly think I'd let him do that?" He muttered.

I unzipped my jacket to bolt out of his grip again, but he enveloped me in a bear hug and jerked me back again. He forced me onto the floor even though I was still fighting against his grip.

"Yeah!" I snarled, "You would! 'Cuz you just want him to be happy!"

Brick scoffed. "Yeah. And happy for us and the rest of the villains' society is getting rid of the Powerpuff Girls. I promise you, Butch, he's not going to get to be the Romeo he wants to be."

I was still fighting, but I let my struggles go weaker.  
"What exactly do you have in mind?" I asked.

His eyes flicked over to the TV again, and his features drew together with hard dedication. I swiveled my head to look too.

A growl ripped from my throat as I watched Boomer lean forward and kiss Bubbles. It was so fast that if I had looked a second after I did, I would have missed it, but it was still a kiss.

I was about to rip myself from his grip again, regardless of whatever his "plans" were, but then my face paled, and my dream came back to me. At the sound of Brick's voice, though, I forced it away. I would think about it later.  
"Here's what I want you to do," My older brother began, "Walk out of this room, go back to bed, and pretend like it never happened. We'll let him believe that we're as innocent as he wanted us to be, and then when he least expects it, we'll make him pay. We'll make him suffer romantically in every way possible."

I raised an eyebrow. "How?" But suddenly the speakers on the monitor made a sound, and we looked to see Boomer getting up and making his way toward the door.

Brick darted away from me to get to his room.  
"I'll tell you later," He whispered over his shoulder. I frowned at him, but I leaped off the floor to follow him.

I didn't want to be caught doing what I shouldn't be doing for once.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N**

**Hellooo again!**

**Thanks so much for reviewing my last chapter!**

**Meli31295: Yup. The poor clueless sap. And thanks for getting your friends to read it!**

**The-writing-vampire: I think you might know who Butch's "wife" was. As for the future aspect, it could be… or maybe it's not. Maybe it's just a fantasy? :) And I'm glad it confused you, actually. That was one of the purposes!**

**AutumnBlayze: Don't explode literally! Haha. And as for the hint of fluff, I think that fits better than total fluff. I've already written a few chapters with pure fluff, so I thought subtlety would be good here.**

**Ppgrulz123: I'm glad you loved it! More fluffiness to come, it's just not as noticeable as the Bubbles/Boomer thing.**

**Bubblycutie: Cool! :D And I'm glad you love Boomer. **

**Peanutbuttergurl6: Thanks!**

**Vwvanlover: Maaaybee….. ;)**

**Wildone97: Glad you think Butch's POV is funny. I aimed for that. ;)**

**Canzie: Fools, eh? Haha. I can see you like the Romeo/Juliet aspect? ;)**

**And thanks to utterly-fabulous, bubblycutie, and candypanda for favoriting! (If I forgot to mention a name or reply to a review, I am sooooo sorry, and It was a complete accident.)**

**Anyway… This chapter is going to be from Blossom's point of view. I'm not ready to write Brick's yet, and I've only written one chapter of Blossom POV, so I believe it's time for her again.**

**Please tell me what you think!  
**

**Chapter 9**

(Blossom POV)

Darkness engulfed me. It drew me in to its' frothing mouth and drowned me in its' waters. I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to back out of that small ecstasy that dreams granted and face reality again. I didn't want to face the fact that I was trapped, helpless, and a bit frightened while everyone I loved suffered. I had to sooner or later.

It was sad that even though I had nothing to do, I couldn't wake up leisurely.

"Rise and shine, Princesses!"

My eyes snapped open and my neck twisted around so I could search for the familiar, yet unfamiliar voice. When my eyes adjusted, my hands clenched into fists on the armrests of the theatre chair where they had been forced to stay for the past day or so.

While I was probably the first one awake, I wasn't the first one to respond.

"GET OUT OF HERE DUMB ASS!" Buttercup shouted, lashing out against her captors.

If I hadn't been tied up at the time, I would have laughed out loud when I saw the three Rowdyruff Boys prance into the room. Well, one of them at least.

Butch skipped to the front of the room first, holding a brown wicker picnic basket.

"Ello dearies!" He greeted in an English accent. It was cheerful, but I sensed that it was dripping with sarcasm. Apparently, I wasn't the first one to notice.

"Oh, go crap a rainbow!" My dark-haired sister spat at her counterpart. Butch's mouth formed in a surprised O and he straightened his fingers on his right had and raised it to cover his mouth in mock surprise.

"My, my! It seems as if little miss Sunshine needs some lessons on manners!"

"Screw you," Buttercup muttered angrily, staring down at her hands.

I had been so caught up in watching the two green-eyed teenagers fight that I hadn't noticed the two other people join Butch at the front of the room.

"Anyway," Brick said loudly, nudging Butch in the ribs to stop him from saying another comment, "So that you don't make the room stink, we're letting you have a bathroom break."

My heart sank in relief. I'd been holding it in for a whole day!

"But we're going to accompany each of you. You'll all go separately, and one of us will go with you. It's escape-proof, so don't get any ideas." My heart sank again, but this time with trepidation and annoyance. Jeez, they really knew how to get under the skin!

Brick's dark ruby red eyes flicked to my face then, and he spoke directly to me. A smug look crossed his face, and I knew his next words before he spoke them.

"I'm supposed to take you, Blossom," He said. I refused to let my composure fall, and so instead of emitting a groan like I should have, I stood there rigidly. I didn't let a blush creep to my cheeks, and I didn't let my features fold into an angry look. I sat there in a composed fashion. I wouldn't let him get to me.

Brick swaggered over and began to undo the knots, buckles, and locks that were holding me to my seat. As soon as he had one hand free, he gripped it fiercely and moved his other hand to undo my other limbs. I could have kicked him off if I wanted to, but with two other enemies sitting in the room, the odds were against me.

Once he got me out of the binds, he tried to help me stand up. I snatched my hands back from him and got up by myself.

"Just because I'm a captive doesn't mean I'm helpless," I growled, and I brushed past him. I made my way over to the door, stopped in front of it, and crossed my arms over my chest. I was aware of the gravity that caused all of the waste to slide down the insides of my body, and suddenly I really, really had to go to the bathroom.

Brick stood there, staring at me with this weird look on his face. At first I thought that he might be intimidated, but then I noticed that there were other emotions playing a part on his face.

"Hey, come on, I can't wait any longer!" I snarled.

His eyes narrowed, and he stalked towards me. Once he reached me, he gripped my wrists and pushed me firmly but gently through the door.

"Let's go," I heard him mutter sourly, and I saw him glance over his shoulder at his brothers for some reason I didn't know.

We made our way across the main part of the gas station to a couple of small doors near the back of the store by the cash register. There were cases of alcohol on the floor, and the cigarettes that were neatly organized behind the counter hadn't been touched. This actually surprised me.

I turned to Brick. "You guys don't drink or smoke?"  
He snorted. "Are you kidding me? We have to keep our _real_ strength up. There isn't anything artificial about us! Do you know how much that crap would weaken us? What it would do to our powers?"

I ignored him. I didn't want to connect with him anymore now that I knew he was the enemy. Now that he had really done some damage to everything I'd ever known. I agreed with him on the alcohol and cigarette thing. I'd vowed to never use them, no matter what the reason.

When we reached the bathroom door, I paused.

"What?" He demanded, and I could sense a bit of weariness in his voice.

"I'm gonna go in there now," I told him, looking at him meaningfully.

"Okay," He said slowly, "There are stalls. I'm going in there with you so you don't try anything."

This time I couldn't fight the blush that was creeping through my body to the top of my skin.

"_What? _Do you know how inappropriate that is? I'm a girl, and you're a boy! It's against everything moral for you to go in there, against my will, while I'm trying to do my private business!" I protested.

Brick laughed, a menacing yet adoring laugh. "Deal with it, princess. I've already decided." And with that, he pushed me into the bathroom and shuffled in after me.

I noticed that he was looking around a bit sheepishly. He probably hadn't been in a girl's restroom before. Smugness turned the corners of my mouth up into a smile, but then I realized that I'd never been into a boy's restroom before, neither had I ever wanted to. If he truly was my counterpart, he might not want this. He must be making quite a sacrifice just to make sure I didn't get away.

I paused to tease him, but I soon decided better of it and turned to go into a stall.

I should have been embarrassed to make any audible sounds, but I could care less at this point in time. I hadn't gone to the restroom in nearly a day and a half. When I had washed and dried my hands, I turned to him again and folded my arms across me chest.

Brick was leaning against the wall. His ruby red eyes were blazing with determination and rebelliousness, but his face was pale and white.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" I asked mockingly.

He gazed at me, and his eyes hardened even more but his face seemed to grow paler.

"You wish," He muttered, and he motioned with his hand for me to lead the way out of the bathroom. I went to do so, but at the last moment he moved in front of me.

Fear flitted through me. What if he locked the door? What if he did something even more immoral than monitoring me outside of the bathroom stall? A sudden rush of exhilaration clouded my usually reasonable thoughts, though, and for a second I thought that I might _want _that. I'd still been deciding on what to do, and I hadn't noticed what he'd actually done.

He had opened the door, and was holding it open for me. When I realized this, I glanced up at him in surprise.  
I raised my eyebrows in question. I had expected him to be that kind of person.

He shrugged.

"I realized that if I let you open the door yourself, you might make a run for it," He paused, "And I can still be a gentleman."

I scoffed and brushed past him as I made my way back into the gas station.

"Whatever," I scoffed.

We had almost made it back to the door when he grabbed a hold of my wrist and pulled me away.

"The more you struggle, the harder it's going to be for all of you. And this pathetic town," He said.

His words confused me, and that was surprising. No matter what wording someone used, I could usually tell exactly what they were saying.

"Maybe if you're a little bit nicer, we'll be nicer, too."

I pulled away from him, eager to get back to the door before I betrayed my sisters and myself. I was the leader; I had to make the decision. Buttercup probably wouldn't listen anymore, but Bubbles would.

"In your dreams," I said, and I opened up the door. I wasn't surprised to see the scene that was playing in front of me.

Buttercup was thrashing against her binds still, but she was almost nose-to-nose with Butch. A sarcastic smile was spread across the boy's face, but Buttercup's features were smeared with a ferocious rage. She was slamming him in the face with insults and profanities since she couldn't move her arms to give him any outer pain. It seemed that he wasn't taking any of this seriously.

Boomer and Bubbles were watching apprehensively, and Boomer was strangely starting to take a defensive position. I wondered over what. Surely Butch wouldn't hit Buttercup while she couldn't fight back! My sister was crazy, sarcastic, and rebellious, but she would never ever kick someone's ass without them able to put up their own fight. She considered it too easy. She liked to brag about things. I was sure that Butch was the same way.

I was suddenly aware of Brick looking over my shoulder. He moved me aside a bit gently, and made his way over to the dark-haired rebels.

"Woah, woah, woah! What's going on here?" He demanded, waving his arms about.

Buttercup glared up at him. "Your lovely _brother _here is the grossest, stupidest, most annoying piece of shit in the world, that's what's going on?"  
Butch stood up to face his older brother, and that sarcastic smile was still plastered across his face.

"Isn't she wonderful?" He asked mockingly.

Buttercup rolled her eyes. Brick took this slight pause to change the subject.

"Alright, kid, it's your turn." He said.

Butch turned towards Buttercup again, and he cracked his knuckles slowly. I winced as I heard each sharp, unmistakable _crack!_

"Awesome," He chuckled.

Buttercup's eyes widened, and then they narrowed.

Butch bent down to untie her again, but this time he needed help. Brick had to assist in grabbing her arms before she could lunge at him.

But apparently the red-head had underestimated my sweet little sister.

As soon as she was completely free of her binds, she lunged at both of them.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**

**Hi! It's time for Chapter 10! (Wow. Chapter 10 already?)**

**Thanks so much for reviewing/favoriting/following!**

**PinkBlackSk8tr: I sure am! Haha. Thanks!  
AutumnBlayze: It could be… or maybe that's just how he is? We'll just have to see! :) And it's my pleasure to do a Blossom chapter! Butch's sarcasm is one of my favorite things too :)**

**Bubblycutie: That's what I say! BC's awesome!  
meli31295: Maybe Brick does, but maybe he doesn't? Haha thanks for reading!**

**Vwvanlover: I love 'em too. Haha.**

**Wildone97: You'll get to read Buttercup's little fight scene in this chapter, I promise! And yeah, that would be creepy, huh? Especially if you didn't know a boy was there O.o**

**The-writing-vampire: Not many questions answered in this chapter… it was mostly a filler… sorry! :(**

**Meryin-x-ZAFTgirl: The bathroom scene was a bit awkward, I must admit. Haha. If you have a question, you can just post it or PM me. ;)**

**N3Mo: Wooh! :)**

**And thanks to rev-yon and Meryin-x-ZAFTgirl for favoriting and following! (Once again, if I forgot your name, it was a total accident.)**

**Well, anyway, we left off last time with BC attacking Butch. I wonder what will happen?**

**Also, suggestions about **_**anything **_**would be awesome! I love hearing my reviewers' ideas!**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!**

**Chapter 10**

(Butch POV)

I wasn't surprised at all when she lashed out at me. In fact, I was almost happy when she pushed me down onto the floor, pressed both knees onto my shoulders, and began to pummel my chest with both fists.

It should have hurt, but since she was so out of practice, I couldn't feel anything, really.

I was vaguely aware that I was snickering hysterically as punch after punch hit home on my ribcage, chest, and shoulders. After a couple of moments, I realized that her punches were getting a bit weaker and more strangled. I blocked out the adrenaline that was coursing through my veins and made my eyes adjust to the room around me again.

I saw Buttercup first, and she was still trying to beat the crap out of me. Secondly, I saw two familiar faces. My brothers were trying to pry her off of me.

"Don't hurt her, don't hurt her, don't hurt her, don't hurt her, don't hurt her!" Bubbles was squealing behind them. I couldn't hear Blossom at all. Another smile crossed my face. My brothers and I would all be the same. I would be going crazy, Boomer would be begging me to stop, and Brick would be glaring at me. In the end, when I would tire out, Brick would yell at me about my inability to stay calm. I didn't really care. I just did what he said and asked him for advice occasionally. I never really listened to the lectures.

When the slight weight was lifted from my chest, I propped myself up on my backside with my elbows and watched my brothers start to contain Buttercup again. I shifted slightly, trying to sort through my mind.

"Hey, wait a sec!" I growled, and I got to my feet. I raked my hand through my hair and composed myself a little more. The adrenaline rush had made my body feel alive, and I was calming down now.

Brick paused in tying a rope around Buttercup's hand and turned to me.

"What?" He demanded, and his dark red eyes were blazing. They weren't that angry fire I'd seen last night, though. The fire his eyes contained was the fire of determination.

"I still gotta take her to the bathroom," I said, and that adrenaline-junkie smile plastered itself across my face as Buttercup flashed me another death glare and a snarl ripped from her throat.

"It's: I have still got to take her to the restroom," Brick corrected.

"Shut up!"

Boomer's blue eyes widened and he looked down at the green Powerpuff. "Are you sure…?" He asked, referring to the main point: I'd still offered to let her have a break.

"I like a challenge," I responded, and my eyes darkened ever so slightly, to show that I could be terrifying if I wanted to. She wasn't the only one with the ability—although I didn't think that she was scary at all.

"You're gonna get one!" Buttercup growled, struggling again to get out of my brothers' grip.

Brick gave me a doubting glance, but he and Boomer released her a few moments later. As soon as she was free, she bolted towards me again.

But this time I was ready.

Before she could pin me down again, I grabbed both of her wrists, twisted her around, and locked my arms around her so she couldn't fight back anymore.

The hot-head shrieked in protest and started trying to kick her foot back behind her to hit my legs, or a spot that was even more painful. I squeezed her tighter against me so she couldn't move her legs either.

"UGH! WHAT THE HELL, YOU CREEP?" She yelled, trying to force her head back. Lucky for me, I was about six inches taller than her. Her head could only hit my chest.

I glanced over at Bubbles, Blossom, Boomer, and Brick. The two blues were staring at me with wide eyes, Blossom looked worried, and Brick looked almost angry. I flashed them all a charming half-smile, and dragged Buttercup out into the main part of the gas station.

She was still fighting me with all of her might, but I managed to drag her over to the bathroom. I stood outside with the struggling girl in my arms for about five minutes before I got impatient. She obviously didn't get the point when I tried to haul her up to her feet and through the door. She was stubborn. Another trait, I realized, that made her exactly like me.

As my impatience grew, I realized something: She could fight back now, and I didn't have to hold back. When this thought circulated through my brain, I reached out and gave a harsh _thump _to her head with the back of my hand. I hadn't gone easy on her, but I hadn't used all of my strength in that one little gesture.

I should have known she wouldn't come to her senses. As my small hit to her skull registered, her eyes grew wide and her face went red with fury. She began to fight against my grip even more, and I forced her down onto the ground again. This time, I had to use all of my strength.

"Would you just go to the freaking bathroom already!" I yelled, trying to shove her forward without letting go. If I let her escape I would never hear the end of it from Brick.

"I'll go when I want!" Buttercup yelled back, still trying to struggle out of my hands. I was getting really pissed off now. Despite Brick's lecture on not letting them go for any reason, I released my hold on her.

I waited to hear either the front door slam, but of course, that didn't happen. I'd forgotten how much alike we were.

Before I knew it, I was on my back, shoulders pinned down by Buttercup's knees.

I gritted my teeth and narrowed my eyes, and using all of my speed, I reversed our positions. _I _was pinning _her _down in a matter of seconds.

She was struggling out of my grip again, this time with renewed strength.

A smile spread across my face as adrenaline pulsed through my body again. "Good luck with getting out of this," I growled through my teeth. I wasn't going to show her that she was weakening me as she weakened herself. I'd been using every muscle in my body in some way for the past twenty minutes. I'd been trained to stand for about an hour of pure muscle-usage, but that training had been a while ago. We'd spent the last couple of months looking for a place to keep the girls. I'd stolen a punching bag and had let my fury loose on it, but then didn't really count in weightlifting for me. It was more of a usual thing.

"I don't need luck!" Buttercup snarled and she kicked her legs out. This motion pushed my body forward, and I succeeded in keeping my grip on her, but our faces were only a few inches apart.

For some reason, Buttercup's eyes widened in surprise, and then fury seared her gaze again. I stared back at her in confusion, and then I realized how close we were. The sarcastic smile found its way onto my face again, and I rocked back to sit down on her again.

"Do you want to go to the bathroom, sunshine? Or do you want to hold it for another day or so?" I asked in the most polite way possible—which happened to be sarcasm.

Buttercup's eyes narrowed, and after a second of thinking, she let her body relax. I watched her for a few seconds. After all, she was my counterpart. It was in my nature to be deceitful.

I got up off of her slowly, still holding onto her wrists as I rose to my feet. I pressed her arms up against my chest firmly and gave her a dirty look, telling her through my actions that I'd grab her again if she made a run for it. She stared up at me with an equally brutal glare. We held each other's gaze for a few more seconds, and then I let her go.

She stumbled back, glared at me for a few seconds, and then went into the bathroom.  
"Hah!" I whispered under my breath, "And they didn't think I could do it!"

Brick had told me to go into the bathroom with her and stand outside the door just in case she decided to escape, but I decided not to. Although it would be so fun just to annoy her again. That tactic was starting to get old. I needed to find a new way to get under her skin. Sarcasm was my signature tactic, but for some reason it wasn't working like I wanted it to with Buttercup. I wanted a different reaction.

I leaned against the outside of the door and crossed my arms across my chest, trying to figure out new solutions. I wasn't usually the wanderer. Boomer was constantly daydreaming, but this time around it was my turn.

I soon found my mind twisting around and veering off on different subjects. I found myself wondering if my face was dirty, or if my shirt was wrinkly, or if my breath was stinky. I usually didn't care about that shit! Why did I care now? I shook my head to clear it of those thoughts, and tried to focus on something else as I waited for my counterpart to come out of the bathroom.

I began to think about food. I'd eaten a muffin about an hour ago, but I wanted something else. Then the thought hit me: A meatball sandwich. My mouth watered. Ah, man, that sounded good. I heard the water at the sink start to run in the bathroom as she started to wash her hands, and for the first time in my life the thought of food dimmed from my mind. I started thinking about my dream again.

It was weird… it had been so… real. I knew exactly what had happened before. I could remember the birth of that kid who I'd called son, the marriage to my wife, what my job was…. But I couldn't remember really anything before that. I knew certain facts about the woman I was married to, but I couldn't put my finger on where I'd met her, what her name was, how it took her a long time to laugh at my jokes… I also knew she was beautiful. That little voice in the back of my mind was telling me that I _did _know. Somehow.

My mind and body slowly floated away from the room as I tried to put myself back in the dream. I tried to recall what she looked like, the color of her hair, what she smelled like… anything to identify her! I tried to remember the shape of her body, or how tall she was. It felt like I should know these things! I should—

"Yo! Jackass! I said I was _ready to go_! Don't you want to tie me up again?"

I blinked my eyes excessively to try and come back to my current predicament. Buttercup was standing in front of me, waving her hand in front of my face.

"Oh, yeah." I muttered, "Come on." I led her to the room where we were keeping her and her sisters again, realizing that she was behind me and not in front where she should be. I didn't really care right now. I was too caught up in trying to remember my dream. I paused when I reached the door, and let her push it open before me so it looked like I'd been following her the whole time and doing my job.

Buttercup went straight to her chair, which surprised me along with everyone else. I should have known, though. Another thing about me: I was unpredictable. Buttercup leaned back and let Brick and Boomer tie her back into her restraints.

We didn't say anything else.

Boomer took Bubbles next, and I was suddenly filled with adrenaline and fury again as I remembered last nights events. Brick shot me a glance, though, and I had to dig the nails of my right hand into my left arm to stop from jumping on top of my brother and pushing him into the ground. I wanted to pummel him into the dust right now. I took a deep breath and turned away, pretending to be looking at another subject.

I looked over at Brick again, but he wasn't looking at me. Hostility prickled through the air. He was in a leader stare-down with Blossom.

It suddenly occurred to me that if Boomer had feelings for Bubbles… what if my other brother had feelings for _his _counterpart? I felt all alone all of a sudden. I didn't like that.

I nearly stomped to the front of the room again, and picked up the brown wicker picnic basket that I'd set down when I'd arrived here a while ago.

"What's in there?" Buttercup asked innocently from where she sat in her chair, "Your laundry?"

"Of course!" I fired back, "I just got it down from the hangers outside, and I wanted to fold it in here!"

She glared at me, and a smile spread across my face. I momentarily forgot about the muffins in the basket that were supposed to be the Powerpuff girl's breakfast—and only meal in the past day.

Brick snapped me out of the potential war I was about to have with Buttercup then.

"Yo, Twitch," He said, using my all-too-familiar nickname. When I was angry enough, my entire body would jitter.

"Huh?" I growled, glaring over at him.

"Watch them. I've got to go take care of something." He stared at me meaningfully, and I realized what he was going to do.

I nodded and a smirk plastered itself across my face.

I watched my older brother saunter out the door, and curiosity lit itself inside of me. I wondered what _his _tactic would be.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N**

**Hey again! It's time for chapter 11.**

**First of all, thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following!**

**Vwvanlover: Sure did! Haha. I thought they should by accident at least ONCE.**

**Wildone97: Yeah, I liked Butch's twitch too much to leave it out. Haha.**

**Animeskullgirl16: It COULD be BC, but is it? :P I'm glad you loved my chapter! And yes, he's nice to her in his own special way ;)**

**Bubblycutie: Haha, bleep?**

**Meli31295: Thanks! And Butch's sarcasm IS awesome, I must say. I always think of him to be a sarcastic figure.**

**Rev-yon: Thank you! I'll try! :)**

**Monkey-Lover-25: Maybe it was Buttercup… Maybe it wasn't? Muahahaha.**

**Ppgrulz123: Thanks! And I thought SOME amount of fluff was needed. It's just a different kind of fluff for all of them ;)**

**The-writing-vampire: I think most of your Brick/Blossom questions will be answered in this chapter, but as for the Butch dream ones… I think I just might leave my readers hanging on WHO it actually is until Butch realizes it, but I think everyone already knows ;). I'm thinking of writing a sequel to this story when I'm done about the future… so maybe it is a look into what will/could happen?**

**Meryin-x-ZAFTgirl: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it! And I've been trying SOOOO hard to stick to each person's original personality. Thanks for reading! :)**

**AutumnBlayze: Hahaha… get your hair out of your face. That actually sounds like a Butch thing. I picture him with hair hanging over his eyes. I'm planning on doing another Buttercup chapter extremely soon! And don't ya just LOVE meatball sandwiches? It's cheese, bread, and meat. What more could you ask for? ;)**

**Canzie: Oooh… Boomer's not going to REALLY be hurt… trust me. I sound evil, don't I? Muahahaha.**

**And thanks so much to SayNoToStrangers, (By the way, love that username. It made me laugh.) and coonbuddy1, for favoriting/following my story! (Also, if I left anyone out, it was SOOO not on purpose! I'm human, and I make mistakes :()**

**So anyway…**

**I've chosen to do Brick's POV for the first time in this chapter, mostly because HE is going to go and "punish" Boomer. Also, I thought it might be cool to do him for the first time.**

**You also may notice that this chapter is several words longer than my usual 2500-3000 word chapters. It's because I got inspired, and I felt bad for not updating in a few days.**

**And, hey! I've been thinking about doing another one of Butch's little future-like dreams! Please tell me if you think I should do another one. Also, it would be cool if you could tell me what you might like to see in those dreams! As long as they're family/future related, I'll probably use them. (If I do, I'll make sure to say in my author's note that you thought of it.) Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING!**

**Chapter 11**

(Brick POV)

For some reason, I had the feeling that I would be really pissed off and disappointed in a second. It was like waves of premonition were coming towards me, and I felt all of the emotion in them. I felt like I was going to explode with my trepidation. I didn't want my brother to disobey the strict rules I had given him, but I also wanted to show him _and _Bubbles what I would do if my commands were ignored.

I paused by the door, and I briefly glanced over my shoulder. I was a bit nervous about leaving Butch in charge of the two of Powerpuffs because he might start a fight, but then I reminded myself that they were both tied up—and rather tightly.

Butch and Buttercup were glowering at each other yet again, and Blossom was staring after me with an arched eyebrow and pursed lips. I had the feeling that she knew what I was about to do.

And like a wind sweeping me into an ocean, I remembered when I had first met Blossom.

I'd ordered both of my brothers to research their counterparts. They had to know what had happened to each of them between the time we had last seen them and now. (**A/N Oohh… they sound like creepers!)**

Butch had reported that Buttercup had a permanent file. It was nothing too serious. The girl was reported to have a bad temper, and it was also stated that she'd gotten into many fights.

Boomer didn't find much about Bubbles. He just found the Cheerleading Roster, The Dance page, and found that she was the head of both.

I found a ton on Blossom. She had about every credit possible in High School, and even some credits for College, already! She had many teacher recommendations, and ample proof that she was a genius.

I was readily prepared to meet her after her student council meeting and somehow outsmart her into coming with me.

The first thing I had to do was find the student council _room. _It wasn't hard. I'm not bragging, but it would be a crime if I didn't use my good looks to get what I want sometimes. I found a girl, asked her where I could find it, and she obviously complied. She'd also given me her number, but I'd "accidentally" lost it. I didn't have time for girls. Sure, it might be nice to have a girlfriend _someday _but I was too busy with my duties to other villains and my brothers. It seemed that I was appointed the leader because of my smarts and cunning. I'd been the leader as a child because I liked to tell people what to do, but now it wasn't a choice for me. Nonetheless, there couldn't be a Mrs. Brick Jojo for quite some time.

Anyway, I'd found the room where it was being hosted, and I'd stood outside of it for several minutes, trying to take in what was going on. I used my powers to try and separate voice from voice to see if I could find anyone who sounded similar to the little girl I'd known at five years old. I found her _voice _right after she stalled. She sensed me. I knew it was time to get out of there. I just couldn't resist sticking around the door a small amount of time longer when I heard her quick comeback to her little "Space-out" moment.

When the meeting had gotten boring for me again, I'd gone to the nearest exit; hoping that she'd be the last one out, and that she would go that way. I slipped my hood over my head, leaned against the wall, and waited.

About fifteen minutes later, a crowd of students swarmed through the door I had used to exit the building. I couldn't help but notice that they were what I classified as "Star-trek addicts." Just to go against everything that I was here for, I hoped that Blossom wasn't in that crowd. I was told that I was good looking, so she should be too right? We _were_ supposed to be exactly the same, weren't we?

I waited until all of the minors filed out of the building, taking in each of the girls' hair, and eye color. I saw a few red heads, but their eyes were either brown or green. I knew that Blossom's would be ruby red.

The students made their way to the parking lot, piled into different cars, and left. Just like that. I noticed that there were only a few cars left. Awesome. This was going to be easier with no witnesses.

I was looking off into the parking lot still, when the door opened. I should have heard the footsteps before the sudden whoosh of air, the feeling of someone looking at me, (**A/N Call me paranoid, but when I wrote that, I turned around because I suddenly got that feeling. Hahaha.) **or the feminine smell. I wanted to whirl around, to take the offensive before she could react, because, just like a predator, I could feel the presence of my enemy—and my prey.

I made myself turn slowly, and keep my face concealed underneath of my hood. That was one of the reasons why I'd brought it. I needed to keep my face hidden until I could fully assess her. I was reluctant to realize that she might be a threat. I'd also taken the sweatshirt because it could be cold.

I realized immediately when I noticed the usual innocent-civilian expression on her face, that she was no threat at all. No doubt, it was Blossom. She still had those intelligent, ruby red eyes that were a shade lighter than mine. Her face was still taught with the knowledge she held, and she still walked with her head high. She'd changed, though. She of course, had to have the body of a sixteen-year-old girl. I noticed with pain that her hips had widened, therefore she had what I liked to refer to as "dangerous curves" when I was lecturing my brothers… and myself.

I made my eyes squeeze together as I forced myself to realize that the beautiful creature in front of me was my enemy—the one that I'd sworn to myself and others that I would destroy. There was no future with her. Not ever. It was unthinkable. So, I forced these thoughts of my brain, and decided to start one of the millions of tests that I'd thought over in my mind.

I pulled my hood down when she asked me if I was new, and I told her the story that I'd made up quite a while ago. I'd planned everything perfectly.  
I found out exactly what she was about, and wasn't surprised that she was like me in a lot of ways. We had the same interests, we both wanted to be a surgeon of some kind or a politician when we grew up, and we both had basically the same history… except for the part where my brothers and I had disappeared from the face of the earth.

We'd trained our asses off, and finally had decided to appear for the world again when we were fourteen. We'd discovered that the enemies we'd been training so hard to beat had been forced into retirement. The villains had banded together, but in their old age, they had decided to retire, too. We found them in a retirement home that they'd forced the government to give them. They told us their stories, and how they were disappointed that they'd never see the Powerpuff Girls burn like they'd wanted. In my frustration for working so hard for nothing, I had decided that we would fulfill this for all of the villains of Townsville. This way, our training wouldn't be for nothing. We were still young. We could do it.

Blossom didn't tell me about the fact that she had once been one of the protectors of Townsville, but I didn't need to hear her say it. I _knew _it was her. I just had that strange pull in my gut.

I'd taken her to my car, just like planned. She was smart, but she wasn't caught up with the newer villains. She wasn't concerned about it anymore. This bothered me. If I had been stripped of my powers, I'd still be trying to find a way to protect my city. Maybe that was the difference between Blossom and I. Maybe I didn't give up as easily. I had always been more of a gloater.

Before sedating her, she'd made it clear to me that she knew who I was. I didn't give her the chance to fight or do anything about it, though. I'd used the chemical Mojo Jojo had given my brothers and I to use. It was a liquid that changed to a gas if pressure was applied. It was made up of a strange concoction of Chemical X, and some other weird toxins that for once, I had never heard of. All he told us, was that it would knock them out in five seconds once it was in their system, and that they wouldn't wake up for quite some time. It wouldn't hurt them. Mojo was sad about this, but Butch and I weren't. We wanted to do the hurt ourselves.

Through this whole time, I'd been trying not to let myself give in to the spell of Blossom. I'd always liked a pretty girl, but the high IQ level was a HUGE aspect that a girl needed to have before I seriously liked her. For some reason, I found Blossom irresistible.  
The night that I had discovered Boomer betraying us, I had been furious. We'd all sworn that, no matter what, we'd stay loyal to our plans. It was clear that Butch was keeping up his part of the deal, I was forcing myself to, but our little romantic brother had decided to completely ignore it. This fueled my need for vengeance even more, but now I had someone that I could immediately take it out on.

So, as I opened that door and stalked into the main part of the gas station, my mind grew completely alert. It became the mind of a predator, searching for its prey.

I turned my body towards the part of the room where I knew the bathrooms to be located, composed myself, and walked toward it. I found that Boomer had taken a position outside of the women's restroom door. This made me even angrier. I had ordered both of my brothers to stand outside of the bathroom _stall _so the girls would have no chance of finding any sort of weapon, or finding some small window to break out of, or even making an entire wall explode so they could get out. I took a deep breath, and I walked toward him.

Boomer had been staring down at his feet with a goofy smile as he slouched against the wall, but when he saw me, his face drained of some of its color and he stood straight. He let his long, muscular arms fall to his side and his blue eyes darkened.

"Hi."

"Hi," I growled, "Why are you not in the bathroom with her?"

His face paled. "Uh… I thought it was kind of awkward and rude."

"Awkward and rude my ass. I gave you an order, little brother."

He narrowed his eyes and his face gained that young, puppy dog look. The one he knew that I couldn't resist. My little brother was so polite, so patient, sweet. Everyone loved the Quarterback of the Football Team. He knew that I couldn't say no to his considerate gesture.

"Well, _I _didn't want to go in there, you know. She's a girl. I've got to be a gentleman of some sort," He retorted quietly.

I took a deep breath, steadied myself, and made my brain stay completely and icily calm. It had to be at this moment in time.

"You've been gone for twenty minutes," I said.

He looked a bit embarrassed. "So? Buttercup and Butch were gone for like, thirty!"

"There's a difference," I growled, losing a bit of my cool for a short amount of time, "Butch was fighting her. She wouldn't go into the bathroom. You know how determined he gets when he is given an order, and I gave him the order to take her to the restroom," It was true. I was like the sergeant, and he was like the completely dedicated soldier. He would do whatever he could, at whatever cost, to complete his mission. Sometimes, it was just for his ego. He hated being defeated. It made him feel weak.

Boomer looked away. "She had to really go I guess."

I really took my little brothers' appearance in for the first time that morning. His blonde hair was combed, his light skin was clean, and he was wearing a blue button-up shirt, jeans, and some Nikes. I tried to see if anything was out of the ordinary. It took me a few heartbeats to really spot anything. I noticed with grave certainty that his hair was mussed up a little in the back—that's why he was leaning against the wall—and his shirt was unbuttoned a button too much.

I narrowed my eyes briefly, realizing that the scene on the TV must have been replayed… but a little more fiercely this time because Bubbles now had her hands free. I took another deep breath.

"So… I have something I need you to do," I said.

His eyes flicked back to my face, and he looked a bit concerned. "What is it?"

I fought the urge to smile menacingly. This was my brother, not my enemy.

"Well… you see… those girls think that they can do anything. They still think that they're untouchable. We need to prove them wrong. We can prove that we dominate, that we always have, and that we always will."

His face was weary. "But… if Butch basically just wrestled Buttercup to the ground, wouldn't that be a show of dominance?"

I shook my head. "Buttercup's like Butch. She'll just keep trying. She fights no matter what we do. It's Blossom and Bubbles I'm talking about. They need to realize that all hope is gone. Sooner or later, that will rub off on Buttercup, too."

I saw him swallow nervously; although I got the feeling that he was trying to hide it from me. "Okay… what do you want me to do?" He asked.

"Once Bubbles gets out of the bathroom, I want you to _immediately _escort her back to the room were holding them in," I noticed his face go paler as he realized that I had emphasized 'immediately', "And, once all of the girls have their eyes on you, slam Bubbles on to the ground. I don't care how, and I don't care what she says or does, I want you to do it, and I want you to do it _hard. _Once she's on the ground, kick her as fierce as you can in the gut. Or somewhere else. Just make it hurt."

He looked horrified, but he had to push the emotion away. "Why Bubbles? Why not Blossom?" He prompted tentatively.

"Because Blossom will let me do whatever. She just doesn't want us to hurt her loved ones. If we hurt the baby, it will weaken them all. They'll know that we'll do it again if they make us mad. Buttercup will feel horrible because we'll make it seem like it's her fault Bubbles is hurt because of her actions today," I informed him. It wasn't one of my best plans, but it would get the message I wanted to send to them across.

Boomer was completely silent. After a few moments, I got a bit aggravated.

"You got it?" I growled.

He bit his lip with his top row of perfectly straight, white teeth, and he nodded.

I gave him an expecting look, and then I stalked back to the room I had previously been in, and I slammed the door behind me.

I heard the argument before I even opened the door.

"Oh yeah? Well you smell like you just _rolled _in a pile of dog crap!" Butch growled.

"Your _face _looks like a pile of dog crap!" Buttercup screamed back. Blossom had her head laid back against the chair with an annoyed look on her face. It seemed as though she had been trying to stop this argument, but had failed several times.

"Just shut up, will ya Sunshine? The sound of your voice isn't needed," Butch said sweetly.

"Your _birth _wasn't needed!"

"Yo, guys, guys, guys! Would you just _shut up? BOTH OF YOU?" _I snarled as I stalked over to my brother. Buttercup scowled at me, and I heard her start to mutter a chain of curse words under her breath. Butch smiled and turned to face me.

"So… what was your payback?" He whispered so only I could hear. Just then, the door opened slowly. Bubbles walked into the room, a smile plastered on her face to make her sisters feel better, I knew. Boomer walked in after her. His blue eyes looked a bit desolate, and his face was still really pale.

"You'll see," I muttered to Butch as Bubbles reached the end of the theatre seats.

"Uh, hey, before you sit down," I heard Boomer murmur in her ear, "Come over to the front with me… near my brothers."

Bubbles' face clouded over with a small amount of fear, but Boomer sighed. "Don't worry… they're not going to hurt you."

He looked so, so ashamed. I knew I was getting to him exactly how I wanted. He knew that if he disobeyed my order, we would know exactly what he had done, and we would first of all, kick his ass, and then we would simply kill the Powerpuff Girls. It would be all right if they didn't see the destruction of everything they loved. It wouldn't be nearly as fun to end it quickly, but if they became a distraction, we would have to.

Once Boomer had walked Bubbles over to the front of the room, I heard him breath a gentle, "I'm sorry," before he harshly pushed the blonde to the floor. I heard Butch snarl under his breath. We would have to be keeping a full eye on Boomer tonight, so he wouldn't sneak back in here to apologize again.

Boomer bit his lip in pure agony, and kicked Bubbles with a lot of force, in the stomach.

Bubbles let out a cry of pain, and she grasped at her stomach to try and calm it. Boomer forced her to her feet, pushed her back into a chair, and he strapped her in tightly again.

Blossom looked bewildered, and a bit frightened. Buttercup was screaming, but it wasn't in fear. She was absolutely furious. She began kicking out at Boomer, trying to kick his legs out from under him. I could see by the look on his face that he knew if he got anywhere near the dark haired girl, he'd be a goner.

Boomer backed away, and he exited the room with his eyes downcast and a shocked look on his face. Butch turned to follow him, but he paused and looked over at Buttercup to smile sarcastically, but pleasantly at her. Buttercup snarled in response and lunged forward in her binds.

"I'll miss you, too, Sweetheart!" Butch called, and he walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him for full affect.

I turned my eyes from the door to where Blossom was sitting. She was staring at me with a saddened expression on her face, and a desperate look in her eyes.

I narrowed my eyes, and I kicked the picnic basket Butch had brought in closer to her. I inclined my head toward the wicker basket, and I looked up at my counterpart a bit scornfully.

"Lunch. _If _you can get to it," I growled, and then I stalked out of the room, and back to my brothers.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N**

**HEY! I'm SOOOO Sorry for the strange little hiatus. I've had quite a bit of homework this week and haven't been able to write Chapter 12.**

**Alright… to the reviewers!  
Thanks to all who reviewed/favorited/followed!**

**Meli31295: Yup. Haha. Brick=Ass. But, he is the oldest… not saying anything about the oldest kids being jerks, though, because I'm the oldest in my family! Haha.**

**The-writing-vampire: YES! That's exactly how I'm trying to portray the relationship aspect! Thank you so much for getting it! And awesome! I'll start coming up with a plot for that next story sometime. :)**

**Bubblycutie: O.o creepy! Haha. Sorry, I didn't have time to update Sunday =/**

**Meyrin-X-ZAFTgirl: Good! I'm glad you think it's suspenseful! Thanks! :)**

**Canzie: Thanks! Hehe.**

**Un Auteur: Thanks!**

**AutumnBlayze: THANKS FOR GIVING ME IDEAS! I actually LOVE them, and I proved so by using one of them in this chapter :) Thanks so much!**

**Wildone97: Hahahaha! Oh my gosh! I didn't realize that! Thanks for pointing it out, it made me fall out of my chair laughing! :)**

**Vwvanlover: Thanks! I love the sarcasm too! :)**

**Pontiac56: Thank you! =)**

**Sundepender: She sure is! Sooner or later, right? Ha.**

**xXMidnightFireHeartxX: Yeah… haha.**

**And thanks to superninjapiratezombieinspace (love that username by the way!), My Timeless Blue, xxBECKYxBOOxx, and Pontiac56, for favoriting/following! (If I forgot a name, I am SOOO sorry, and it was not on purpose!)**

**So anyway, this chapter is on Butch's POV. The next chapter will MOST LIKELY be on Buttercup.**

**Thankies so much to AutumnBlayze for the ideas for Butch's dream!**

**Anyway… here's chapter 12**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. And thanks to AutumnBlayze for the ideas on Butch's dreams! ;)**

**Chapter 12**

(Butch's POV)

It was all over the headlines:

LOCAL SNOWBOARDER GOES PRO.

My lips curled up and into a smile. That was me. Townsville's newest star. I had been trying forever to try and get noticed by different talent scouts. My wife had been telling me for the past four years to keep trying—even though I had almost given up. I'd been great at skateboarding, but I'd found a new love for cold things when I'd graduated from High School and had gone to Alaska on my honeymoon. I'd tried snowboarding, and due to my talents in skateboarding, I'd had a lot of fun. More fun than I'd expected. Since then, I'd been practicing and practicing. Two weeks ago, I'd finally gotten someone to see me. The guy had signed me immediately.

We were talking magazine covers, my own TV Show, and maybe I'd even write a book about it! I'd be raking in money in no time.

My wife was so proud of me when I'd told her. We weren't in huge financial trouble or anything, but with this new job, we'd finally be able to get a bigger house with more than two bedrooms. After all, we did have a baby.

The paper fell out of my hands and into my lap as something sharp tapped against the middle of it. A new weight fell on top of my knees and I looked down in surprise.

"Daaaaddy?" A sweet little bird chirped. Well, not an actual bird. More like a superhuman boy. He had a head of midnight black hair, fair skin that was the color of ivory, a face plump with youth, and eyes so green that the leaves on the spring trees were ashamed to be seen.

"Hey, Beck!" I laughed, and I reached down to gently ruffle the hair on his head. He giggled, but didn't do much more. At only eleven months old, my boy was extremely smart in so many ways, but he didn't know the humanly functions of walking or talking in complete sentences.

Beck squeezed my jean-covered knees a bit more tightly as he began to tilt to the left side and he needed balance.

"Oh, don't fall, kiddo!" I whispered, and I reached out to him. He reached out in response, and let me lift him up onto my lap.

"Butch, you retard!" Came the voice I'd come to love. I turned my head to see my wife coming into the living room from the kitchen. A frustrated look was plastered on her face, and she had something pink in her hand.

"What did I do now?" I asked fondly, a smile on my face.

"Retaawd." Beck repeated his mother's words. We both laughed, but I soon became grim-faced.

"If Blossom hears him saying that, she'll have a heart attack," I laughed. My wife paused in the laughter I loved to hear, and she sighed.  
"You're right. Just don't use it anymore. He'll forget the word if he doesn't hear it again."

I looked down at Beck again. My baby boy was sucking on his tiny little fist and looking up at me with curious green eyes. I couldn't help but smile. I loved him so much.

"I'm not the one who used it," I argued pointedly.

She put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow—the position she assumed when it looked like a fight between us was going to start.

"Alright, alright. It's my fault," I laughed, and I put both hands up in front of me, palms outward. The sign of defeat. Beck looked at the position of my hands, and with a curious cooing sound, he mirrored the motion.

I chuckled, and began to absentmindedly trace a little heart on the back of his neck. He squirmed a little bit, and lay his head against my chest. I looked up at my wife again with question in my eyes.

"So… what did I do? Or do I even want to know?"

She shook her head and held up the object in her hand: A pink sock.

"I didn't know we had any of those in that color…" I muttered.  
"We don't," She growled, "Somebody just didn't have any common sense when he did the laundry."

"Oh." I looked down at the little boy in my lap again. He was still staring up at me with innocence in his green eyes.

My wife sighed, flung the sock away, and walked over to us.

"C'mon. Let's see if he'll walk. Or stand," She said, and she stood by the leather recliner that Beck and I were currently sitting in. She held her hand out, which was the sign that she wanted the baby. I sighed, and reluctantly gave my son to my wife.

She took him gently in her arms and laid him on his back while she walked over to the other side of the room. She lifted up his shirt, and gently kissed his little stomach. He giggled again, and then she set him on the floor on his bottom. As he plopped down, he clapped his hands together and stared over at me. I smiled in response.

"Are ya ready, Beck?" I said encouragingly. He smiled another little smile, and lifted his hands toward his mother, indicating that he wanted to be picked up again.

"Oh, none of that, baby," She cooed, and she slipped the index fingers of her hands into his tiny little fists and pulled him up onto his feet. "It's time to try and be a big boy!"

She placed her feet a shoulder's length apart, and began to help him hobble over towards me. I slipped off of the recliner and onto my knees. From there, I proceeded to bend over a little bit and hold out my arms toward him. Beck giggled, and began to struggle to get closer.

When they were about ten steps away from me, my eyes flicked from my son and up to my wife. "Let him go," I mouthed. Some part of me was sure that he could cross the distance by himself.

She shook her head and mouthed back, "Not yet."

I bit my lip, and looked back towards my son. They were only about six steps away now. I saw my wife pause for a brief moment, and then, deciding on what was best I was guessing, she abruptly let him go.

Beck balanced on feeble legs and looked up at his dark-haired mother with a curious stare, and then back towards me again.

I wiggled my fingers, and smiled widely at him. "Come on, Beck! You can do it!"

Beck giggled, and he took one unstable step. He almost lost his balance, but his mother gently nudged him back on course. Once he was sure enough of himself, he began to walk closer. It was slow, but fast for a child that was walking for the first time.

We watched, speechless, as our baby found his way toward me. When he reached me, he clasped his tiny hands around my thumbs and started to fall forward in a dramatic way, but I gently pushed him back up.

"Hey, don't stop now!" I whispered gently to him, unsure if he understood me. "Go walk over to your mama!"

Beck heaved a tiny sigh, and he let me turn him in the direction of my wife. I gave him a gentle push, and he stumbled forward—but a little more surely this time.

As he walked over towards her, my wife glanced up at me. I read the look in her green eyes as well as I always had been able to, and wasn't surprised to find my own emotions mirrored back at me: Pride, love, happiness….

Almost as quickly as she had looked up at me, she looked down at our son again, and she held her arms out to him.

I smiled smugly as I saw him reach his mother's arms. The boy was amazing already.

I sat up so quickly in bed that I hadn't even opened my eyes yet. I nearly flew off of the mattress as I scrambled over to the door, yanked it open, and ran over to the other side of the gas station to the bathroom. Once securely inside, I flicked on the light switch and turned to face myself in the mirror.

My black hair was messier than usual, and it was sticking up in tufts all over my head. My face was pale, yet shiny with sweat, and my dark green eyes were wide with confusion and shock. I stared at myself in the mirror of the bathroom in the abandoned gas station for a bit longer, and then I fell forward onto the cheap, white counter top.

I bent over my hands, watching as the sweat fell from my messy hair and onto the solid surface beneath me. I began to take many ragged, deep breaths, and my shoulders rose up in a defensive way.

I looked up at myself in the mirror again, and lifted my left hand to rake through my hair. I took a huge breath, and then I leaned back.

What was _happening _to me? That was the fourth dream I'd had in the past three days! Every time I freaking closed my EYES some weird, futuristic dream would come where I was a good person—a father even! Where my brothers were mentioned sometimes, and I couldn't see them nor could I be with them. Where the only other people that existed were my "wife" and that Beck kid! The part that freaked me out the most… I had no idea who that woman was, but some other part of me DID. And I didn't have the strength to reach inside of myself and find that knowledge.

I was confusing myself. I was getting lost in myself, and I couldn't figure out why or how to stop it. What was suddenly awakening these dreams? I'd never had them before in my life!

Thoughts flickered through my mind. Should I tell Butch? Boomer? No. They'd laugh at me, call me a psychopath.

I was trapped. Trapped in myself. The part I hated the most: I couldn't stop it. I was powerless because I had no idea what was happening to me.

In my rage, my eyes narrowed and I looked down at my hands. MY hands. Not anyone else's. I had to remember that if I was going to stay sane while these dreams circulated through my mind when I slept.

I gritted my teeth, deciding that I needed to take this out on something.

So I did. I took it out on the closest thing to me.

I looked up at the mirror again, and then I lunged forward, smashing my fist into the glass. I pummeled and pummeled until all that remained was the white plaster wall behind a few shards of glass, and then I moved on towards the counter.

I began to smash my fingers down against the stone, digging them in with all of my superhuman strength until I felt it start to come apart. I tugged outward, pulling apart nearly half of the countertop, and then I flung it behind me and into the wall. I began to scramble forward and into the massive hole I created, but I was suddenly unable to move. I lunged forward again, trying to get to my masterpiece of destruction.

"Dude. Stop." Came a familiar voice. I was suddenly aware that I was panting, and heaving huge breaths. Sweat was running in droplets down my face, and my hands weren't covered in blood, but I did have a few scratches.

I turned my head to my left, searching for the idiot who had enveloped me in a strong bear hug. Steady dark blue eyes, an angelic yet sturdy face, and blonde hair greeted me: Boomer.

I turned away bitterly, and struggled in vain to try and get back to what I'd done. I needed to finish this… for my pride and sanity.

"DUDE!" Boomer muttered, and he yanked me back again. I wasn't giving it my all to fight through him. I didn't want to right now.  
"What's your deal?" My little brother demanded.

I finally stopped struggling, and I looked down at my feet. "I have no idea," I growled.

Boomer frowned, and after a moment, he let go of me. I looked back up at him to see that he was inclining his head toward the door.

"Come talk to me?" He offered.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N**

**Aloha! It's T-Shirt Time! (If you know where I got that from, you should be laughing by now. :P)**

**Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, favorite-d and followed!**

**xXMidnightFireHeartxX: Ahaha! I laughed out loud. The Kardashians. Haha.**

**Animeskullgirl16: Thanks! I'm glad you liked the chapters! :)**

**Meli31295: I've been thinking of finding a picture of Beck just so I can give my readers a better idea of what he looks like… but he has GOT to be adorable :) Thank you for reading!**

**KeroNya: Addicted as HELL? Why, thank you! Stupenulous? I might steal that, haha. Thank you for reviewing!**

**Canzie: Thanks! ^^**

**Ppgrulz123: Cool! Happy belated Birthday! :)**

**Sey-ukftw: Thank you! I'm glad you think it's well written. Ah, crap! That is a mistake. I'll fix that, thank you for letting me know! And thank you for reading and reviewing! :)**

**Vwvanlover: Yeah, I think Homey's the word for that. Well, it didn't say it was misspelled or anything on my spell check…**

**The-writing-vampire: Thank you for reviewing! And I look forward to your next one. Enjoy your time with your brother! :)**

**Bubblycutie: Maybe Butch likes BC, maybe he doesn't? :O**

**Meyrin-x-ZAFTgirl: Yeah, it is kind of cute. Thank you for reviwing! :)**

**Pink Moon Witch: The dreams COULD be dreams of Butch's future, and I don't know if I'm going to say whether it really IS the future, or it's just some freaky dream.**

**Wildone97: Haha ;)**

**N3MO: Obviously Butch'll tell Boomer, but I dunno about him telling Brick…**

**And thanks to FKS, sey-ukftw, Remedies, and Myisha99 for following and favoriting! :) (Also, if I forgot to mention anyone at all, it was a complete accident.)**

**So, anyway, my last chapter was basically on Butch's dreams, he freaked out, and Boomer's trying to talk to him. I promised Buttercup's POV this time, and so, I'm going through with that promise.**

**I'm guessing that this story is going to be about 20-25 chapters long, because I want to draw it out as much as possible without it being too agonizingly slow… just enough to savor it. You'll soon be able to make real assumptions about what's going to happen, because something exciting is going to happen. Soon. So stay tuned! :)**

**Anyway, time for Chapter 13!**

**Disclaimer: I ontde wnoe owerpuffpe irlsge. That's Pig Latin for I don't own the Powerpuff girls. I think?**

(Buttercup's POV)

I lay back in my theatre chair, my hair was dripping wet and clinging to my sweaty forehead. After about thirty minutes, I had decided that I'd screamed enough for one event.

I stared over at my sisters, examining their movements with tired green eyes.

Blossom was staring straight ahead, apparently not able to decide which sister she should give her attention to: The crying one in pain, or the screaming animal that, at the moment, seemed to have something mentally wrong with her.

Bubbles had her head against the back of her seat too, but she was breathing quick shallow breaths and her eyes were closed. I could see that her skin was shining with perspiration.

When I stopped screaming, Blossom had slowly looked over toward me. She took my face in with weary eyes and she blinked a few times. After a few moments of silence she said, "…Are you okay now?"

I narrowed my eyes in a glare that said, "What do you think?" I wasn't okay! My hometown was burning to the ground. My father was suffering in prison. My little sister was in terrible pain! And all I could do was sit here and be powerless.

Blossom turned away from me slowly again, feeling a bit stunned. My anger had ebbed away slowly, but I still felt it burning deep within me. I still had the desire to destroy and burn, but I couldn't. Not while I was strapped to this horrible, horrible chair with some material that I couldn't break out of.

Blossom turned to Bubbles then, realizing for what I thought to be the first time that her little sister was still sitting there. Aside from her shallow breathing, she was silent as stars.

"Are you alright, Bubbles?" Blossom asked gently.

Bubbles opened her blue eyes tentatively, and looked at our older sister pleadingly. It made my heart ache, and that burning anger returned, but a bit more powerful this time. I would make those boys pay. And I would make them pay dearly.

Bubbles began to move her dry, full lips in a feeble attempt to speak. Her first attempt ended in a gasp and she clutched at her stomach, but then she spoke again. "I-it hurts."

I was only looking at Bubbles' face right now, but I was sure that if I looked over at Blossom's I would see a concerned look cross her features.

"Where does it hurt?" Blossom asked gently, trying to lean forward to use her hands. I heard her curse under her breath. She couldn't use her nursing skills if she couldn't use her hands.

Bubbles moved a little bit, and her eyes lit up with pain. "Ah…" She groaned, glancing down at her torso. "It-it's the place right above my stomach."

"Your ribs?" Blossom demanded, but again, gently. I reminded myself to be gentle, too. Bubbles was fragile to begin with, and this new injury wasn't going to help with that attribute.

"I dunno," Bubbles whined, and she squeezed her eyes shut as another wave of pain hit her.

Blossom was silent for a second, thinking over what she would do and what she could get Bubbles to do for herself.

"Okay… I want you to try and move your hand over to your stomach press down on all of the different places and tell me which part hurts the most," My oldest sister explained slowly and carefully.

Bubbles nodded, and she struggled to get her hand away from its now permanent-feeling place on the armrest. Once she had been able to pry her right hand off of the plank, she began to press it to the right side of her body. She started at the bottom, closest to her waist, and began to move upwards. She grimaced a little, but no moans or squeaks of pain were heard. Finding nothing on that side, she moved her hand back where it was, and replaced it on her left side with her left hand. She repeated the motion again, but this time found a painful spot on her lower ribs of her ribcage.

"That's it," She said in a strangled tone, holding her breath because pressing down on it hurt so badly.

Blossom nodded quickly, and she paused for a moment, trying to digest the information she was being given.

"It's as I feared," Blossom whispered, and she began to ramble on some weird scientific terms and long words that I thought were body parts.

When she had finished her sentence, she looked over towards Bubbles for a reaction, but all she found was a blank stare over a grimace of pain.

I knew Bubbles wasn't going to demand an understandable answer, so I did it for her.

"And in English that means…?" I prompted forcefully.

Blossom rolled her eyes like I should have already known that, and continued to ramble on. This time it was in words that I could understand, I noted gratefully.

"Long story short, he broke a few of her ribs. If they're protruding inward at a weird angle, bad things will happen. We've got to get out of here and get her to a hospital or something so that the bones can mend correctly," She clarified.

"And if we don't?" I demanded.

Blossom sighed. "If we don't it might permanently damage her, and she will never be able to participate in anything that requires a lot of stamina."

Stamina. I knew that word!

"But… but cheerleading! It's my passion!" Bubbles whimpered, but she grimaced again when the pain in her stomach stuck her. Blossom tried her hardest to get her hand over to our little sister to pat her on the thigh, but it was useless. She was strapped in too tightly.

"I know," Blossom sighed, "And we'll get out of here soon Bubbles. We'll fix you."

Bubbles' cause for pain flitted through my mind. BOOMER. And thinking about Boomer led to thinking about the person I hated the most: BUTCH.

"When I get my hands on that scrawny excuse for a boy I'm gonna ring his neck and dig out his fingernails and cut off his feet and let him die so slowly that he'll be begging for a quick end," I snarled, turning bitterly away from my sisters.

A swish of long hair made me aware that Blossom had turned away from Bubbles to face me. I heard a creak a little ways away and then a small squeak, and I guessed that Bubbles had tried to lean forward to see me, but she'd been greeted by pain and had decided against it.

"Whom are you talking about?" Blossom asked innocently. "Boomer, or your lover?"

My head whipped around towards her so fast that she let out a tiny squeak of alarm and jumped back.

"WHAT did you say?" I snarled. This scored me a smirk from my older sister.

"You know what I said," Blossom laughed. "I mean Butch."

I glared at her. She was aware of my hate for him obviously, and was trying to get me mad at her so she could have some quiet for a while. The silent treatment was my way of being angry towards my sisters.

"Oh, come ON Buttercup. You've got to admit that he's at least _kind of_ cute," Bubbles giggled weakly from Blossom's other side. I snorted.

"He's got the face of a pig that was ran over by a tractor after it got hit by lightning," I growled. For some reason, I saw Bubbles wince.

"Uh huh," Blossom muttered, "And you like him."

"I _hate _him. I hate all of them! For what they did to our town, the professor, you, me, BUBBLES!" I paused, "And besides, this is not the time to be teasing about relationships. Especially with _them._"

"Buttercup, I'm just joking. You know we can't be anything with them. They're our enemies," Blossom said, her face growing serious.

I was about to sigh in relief that she had been joking, but suddenly Bubbles piped up.

"H-hey guys?" Came the small voice.

"Huh?" I muttered, leaning forward to better see my little sister. She was looking down at the ground, and she had a guilty, sad look on her face.

"I-I haven't exactly been honest with you about something..." She said.

Blossom cocked her head to the left, and I felt genuine curiosity coming off of her in waves. No matter how much she denied it, Blossom had always liked rumors and gossip. When they weren't about her, of course.

Bubbles sighed, and she lifted her eyes to see our faces. I noted that she looked at me particularly when she said, "Just promise me that you won't start screaming at me."

I raised an eyebrow, curious yet accepting. What had she done that she thought might anger us?

She drew in a deep breath, and she held it in. I saw her eyes start to flicker around the room as she tried to find the words to start a confession. It was several minutes later when she had finally found the courage to begin.

"Okay," She began, "So… remember when Boomer really hurt me when he knocked me out and took me here? Like… how I felt he had deceived me and stuff?"  
Blossom and I nodded slowly after she paused, aware that she was trying to engage us in her tale. "Well… the first night we were here… he came in while you guys were sleeping a-and he woke me up—" my face was already beginning to turn red in outrage "—And then he apologized and said that he really didn't want to hurt me, and that he liked me, and that he was so, so, sorry and that he hoped I forgave him. And then…"

We leaned forward. Well, Blossom did. I was already forcing my head back in my seat so that I wouldn't start screaming. She was associating with the enemy, a form of being a traitor. I hated traitors…

Bubbles still hadn't spoken those last words, so Blossom had to interject.

"And then?" She prompted.

Bubbles sighed, a bit flustered. "Then he said that he liked me. Like… _LIKE me _like me. And I said that I liked him. And then we kinda…" She trailed off, and she looked over at me for a reaction as she said, "Kissed."

My head whipped around, and my eyes lit up with green fire. "You _what?"_

"I told you…" Bubbles murmured, looking away. "We kissed."

I was seething. I was drowning in my own hatred. How could she? My own sister! And he had kicked her! He had kicked her. The realization made me stop, and curiosity flitted through my mind again.

"Then why did he hurt you?" I asked quietly, trying to piece together this strange puzzle.

"Because Brick told him to," She answered, and I sensed sureness in her voice. "I was standing inside of the bathroom and I heard him. It kind of seemed like-like he knew about us. I have no idea how, though. We were the only two that were awake in the room…"

"So you're going to fall for the cowardly minion who obeys every order his superior gives him?" Blossom demanded, a bit of ice in her voice.

Bubbles' face took on a defensive look. "He's not a coward, and he's not a minion!"

"Then why did he hurt you? He could have been a man and stood up for you. And himself!"

"Because then he'd put us all in danger. The pain was just a sacrifice I had to take," Bubbles sobbed, and she turned away from us. She was trying to indicate that this little chat-session was over.

While Blossom fell silent, and I felt anger start to come off of her in waves, I was not done talking. We didn't have to speak right now, but we would have to eventually.

I had big plans for this little relationship thing that they had going on here. Big plans indeed. Suddenly it occurred to me why I hadn't thought of that plan from the beginning and used it on my own counterpart. But then again, some part of me doubted that Butch was that stupid.

Oh well. Boomer and Bubbles would prove to be just as well for this plan of mine.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N**

**Wooh, Chapter 14 already? Hm…**

**Thanks for reviewing/favoriting/following!**

**Ppgrulz123: I leave you hanging 'cuz I'm mean. Just kidding. I think? Haha.**

**Animeskullgirl16: Honesty IS the best policy! ;)**

**Rev-yon: :)**

**Meli31295: Awesome! Thanks :) I'd hoped I'd get some comments saying that it was good.**

**Cross Your Heart For Me: Thanks! **

**Anonymous Reviewer?: Awww, thanks! I can't wait for you to read it!**

**Vwvanlover: Thankies! :D**

**FKS: There will be romantic moments. Soon. I just can't guarantee when ;)**

**Canzie: Oooh… call me morbid, but those words make me lick my lips sometimes. Hehe. Lacerated gives me the ooey-gooey feeling.**

**xXMidnightFireHeartxX: Exactly! But in a way, Boomer did what he thought was right. Except for the break-Bubbles-bones part ;)**

**Bubblycutie: I don't think it's going to be real RomeoxJuliet-centric, but I'll make it intense with the relation-ships thing. Somehow ;)**

**Wildone97: Silence is golden, but duct tape is silver! Sorry the 'back to silence' thing you said made me think of that =3. You'll get to read the dialogue between Boomer and Brick in this chapter.**

**Mew Pancake: Thank you, thank you, thank you! =D**

**Shewolfgang: It sounds pretty terrible, but I'm glad you're addicted! Haha, I think this is one of the only circumstances where I'll consider it awesome to be addicted. And thanks!**

**Lydia: You'll see some Butch/Buttercup action soon. Hopefully. Thanks for reading/reviewing!**

**Jenaca: Haha, I'm writin', I'm writin'!**

**She-Pirates-Kick-BUTT- I don't know if they have fingers… but that's a good question! In my story I guess they do. 'Cuz they're people. And most people have fingers… And as for the Bunny question, I don't think I'll write her into the story, I'm sorry! I just don't know how I would incorporate her into this in a non-lame way….**

**And thanks to: greenluvr14, Cross your Heart for me, Yasz1221, Lulu Takashine, Pikalover10, shewolfgang, Mew Pancake, jenaca, and She-Pirates kick-BUTT for favoriting/following! (One again, if I failed to mention your name at all, it was a total accident!)**

**So, I realized that I have shown everyone what they were doing to the town on TV, but I haven't written a chapter from the perspective of one of the boys WHEN they're "out on the town."**

**So that's what this chapter's about.**

**ALSO… I'm going to do ONE more of Butch's dream before I make this story really heat up and stuff. It's going to be just with Butch and his wife, though. I'm not gonna put Beck in this one, although I lubb him berry much! So, it would be really freaking awesome if you could maybe share some of your ideas about that? I'd give you full credit for it if I used it, or even a fraction of it!**

**THANK YOU! YOU ROCK!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

Chapter 14

(Boomer's POV)

I opened the door of the gas station and let the early morning light of day filter into the dusty room. After a quick breath of fresh air, I pressed my back against the door and moved aside, holding the door open for Butch as he passed by me on his way to his jeep.

"And remember," I called over to my brother who was standing by the door to our base camp, "Don't flirt with Blossom too much!"

Brick's face turned a brilliant shade of red, and, aware of the heat spreading through him, he flipped his red hood up over his head to shadow his face.

"Whatever, I don't, and you know that. I don't even like her," I heard his harsh reply, "Just be back before noon. I wanna be able to show the girls the news."

I heard the crackle of tires against road and I turned around to see Butch pulling up in front of the door. He rolled down the passenger window and leaned over so that his face was more visible.

"You're just jealous because we called nose-goes and you were too slow," He scoffed, rolling his dark green eyes.

While it may not have been the most appropriate way to vote on whom went to torture the people of Townsville today, it was fun. It was our way of gloating when one of our brothers was too slow to react.

Obviously, today Butch and I had been the quickest. Butch had called it, I had responded, and Brick had stubbornly crossed his arms over his chest.

"No!" He growled, "I have to go! I always go! Butch, you stay behind this time."

Butch groaned, "But I stayed behind last time! Besides, you didn't do nose-goes today, and that's our final judgment."

"You know what?" Brick muttered, "Rock, paper, scissors. That's what decides it today."

Butch smirked. We all knew that he was a champ of rock, paper, scissors. He could be so sly, and he was a pretty good judge of character, which made him even better at the game. He said it was all on the facial expressions. Because of his ability to recognize them, he always knew what you were going to call.

My two older brothers had done a quick game, and Brick had grimaced when Butch had won: Paper to Rock.

"Two out of three," Brick commanded, and Butch shrugged. Of course, my dark haired brother won. Yet again. This time, though, it was Scissors to Paper.

"Four out of five?"

"Forget it, man. I won. Let's go Boomer," Butch had said.

And that's how it ended up how it was now.

Brick's hood shook back and forth, and I imagined the annoyed look on his face. "Fine, you two go. Have fun."

I smiled my best angelic smile. "We will!"

Brick waved us off, and he disappeared back into the base camp room.

I looked over my shoulder and into Butch's jeep to see a dangerous look in his eyes, and a devious look on his face.

"Ya ready?" He said coolly.

I chuckled. "Yeah." Sure, I was deceiving my brothers by having a huge crush on the enemy—Not just a crush, but also almost a relationship. Sure, I was considered the most sensitive out of the group. Yeah, I was "sweet", but that didn't mean I didn't still get a kick out of frightening people. Mostly the people that judged those who weren't the same as them. So, in a way, I realized, I was sticking up for Bubbles because she was ridiculed for not being normal.

I jogged the short distance to his jeep, swung the passenger door open, and I heaved myself up into the seat. I slammed the door, and then Butch revved the engine and peeled out of the parking lot.

Once on the highway, Butch gave me a smug look and reached over to adjust the volume on the radio. I noticed that he was slowly turning it up to slowly make my distaste for his music grow.

The volume passed 15, 30, 45…55… Although no music was currently on, I knew that would change and my eardrums would be blasted to bits in seconds. When the speakers had reached the level he thought to be "appropriate", Butch pressed the "on" button.

Immediately, his satellite radio lit up in green and yellow computerized lights and it showed the words: 80s on 08. A song began to blast through his speakers, and, just as I had predicted, my ears lost their hearing for the first five seconds I started hearing the music. When I had finally tuned in to what was happening again, I became aware of the song.

To my dismay, Benny and the Jets by Elton John had only started to play.

"Oooh, I love this song!" Butch yelled over the already louder-than-needed speakers. He began to sing with the lyrics so loudly and so out-of-tune, that I had to cover my ears to keep my sanity.

I had almost successfully drowned him out, but then when he hit the part where it said: "You know I read it in a magaZIIINE" and the horrible sound hit me again.

"Butch!" I screamed, but I only earned a booming laugh from him.

When the song ended, we had finally passed the "Now entering Townsville" sign. For once in my life, I was thankful that Butch always went so far over the speed limit, and that we reached places faster than normal.

I took this time to actually drown my brother out without using my hands or anything, and I looked out the window at the town.

It had changed a lot in the past few days. For one, nearly a forth of the town was gone. The only things left of some buildings was a few piles of soot, and some other little debris.

Wow. It was amazing what panicking people and laws could do in only a few days.

Butch picked the parking lot of a bank to park in, and he turned the radio off. The space inside the jeep became solemn, and almost… dark.

I remembered last night when I had found him in the bathroom, throwing a Butch-fit, so I liked to call them. He didn't have them often, but when he did, you never forgot.

I had been sleeping on the couch in Base Camp, brooding over the events of the day, when I heard a loud crash from the bathroom. Unhurried, I looked over the armrest of the couch and at the TV, finding that the girls were still in the places where we'd put them. Brick was dozing in the recliner behind the wooden desk (to make sure that I wouldn't go see Bubbles again, no doubt. I didn't know for sure if they knew, but I had a pretty good idea that they did.) The only culprit this time was Butch.

I had looked over at my oldest brother. "Do you hear that?" I whispered.

Brick shrugged. "The toilet probably broke or wouldn't flush or something. He taught it a lesson."

I wasn't too happy with his nonchalant dismissal, and so I got up off the couch to go see what the commotion was.

I had pushed open the bathroom door to see my brother tearing massive holes into the cheap white countertop of the bathroom, his body covered in sweat, and tears streaming down his face.

"Butch!" I screamed, but he couldn't hear me. He was tossing shards of glass from the mirror he'd broken away from him.

I'd done the necessary thing; I'd gripped him from behind so tightly and securely that he couldn't do anything stupid.

"Dude, stop!" Were the next words that came from my mouth.

I held my older brother's panting body, feeling the tremors that spread through it. I couldn't believe it. He seemed almost… afraid.

He lunged forward again to finish wrecking what was left of the counter, but I yanked him back again. "DUDE!"

I realized that he wasn't fighting his hardest, and that I was grateful for. I couldn't restrain him if he was giving it his all, in the tired state that I was in.

"What's your deal?" I demanded. To my astonishment, he stopped struggling. He answered me in a quavering voice, "I don't know."

I let go of him, different decisions and outcomes running through my head. I could do the brotherly thing, and help him through whatever was troubling him, or I could do the RowdyRuff Boy thing that I was supposed to do and totally ignore it and let him finish destroying the only men's room we had.

In the end, I chose the thing that I _should _do.

"Come talk to me?" I offered, and I inclined my head towards the door.

I led him over to one of the little side rooms that we used to sleep in, only to discover that he had been using this one to sleep in that night. The small mattress that he had used had a few holes in it, and I could see some of the box springs. I guessed that he had been gouging holes in it with his nails while he slept.

I opted to plop down on the couch in the room instead, and Butch sat to my left on the bed, trying to avoid my direct eye contact. So, I turned toward him.

"What's wrong?" I growled.

He shook his head. "Nightmares."

I raised an eyebrow. "Nightmares? Making you this upset? I thought you liked nightmares."

"Yeah," He sniffed, "I like the ones with actual terrifying things that would make you pee your pants. Those stupid old terror movies that no one watches anymore because they're too vulture, or whatever."

While I wasn't Brick, I had to correct him. "Vulgar."

"Whatever. Aren't you supposed to be helping me?"

I shrugged. "Are you going to _let _me help you?"

He shrugged in response. "There's not much that you can help with. These dreams are so weird… I can barely remember anything that happens in them."

I considered this. "Tell me what you _do _remember."

He bit his lip, and was silent for a few minutes. Finally, his dark green eyes darted up toward mine. They almost looked unnatural in the darkness of the room.

"Well, in every dream I have, they seem like they could be true. What do they call it? Futurama?"

"Futuristic?" I offered the word.

"Yeah, that. Well, every time I'm in the weird little dream world, I'm always in some weird house I've never seen before. In the first dream—"

"Wait, what? You've had more than one dream?"

He nodded. "I have them every time I go to sleep."

I bit my lip in thought. "Keep goin'."

"Okay, well, I'm always in some weird house that I've never seen before… and in my dreams, I'm married. And I have a kid," He told me, his eyes wide with caution.

I snickered. "You? Married?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. And I can't control my emotions. It's like watching through a TV, even though it's my life. And I can't control anything. I can FEEL my emotions, though. I really love them. That family."

"What does your wife look like?" I asked him, a bit curious. If my suspicions were correct, then maybe…

Butch screwed up his nose. "That's the problem. I can never remember."

"Then what does your kid look like?"

"Beck?"

"Beck?" I repeated. Strange. That name fit a kid of Butch's.

"Yeah. In my first dream, he was like… thirteen. He looked like me. In my second dream, he was like seven, and in my last dream, he was barely one. He always has green eyes and black hair. His eyes are always a little bit lighter than mine," He told me.

"But are they darker than Buttercup's?" I asked him, trying to get my suspicions out there. Maybe if he thought about the dark beauty in the other room, he'd realize that she might play a part in these ominous dreams of his.

He tilted his head to the side. "Buttercup? What does she have to do with this?"

I nearly laughed out loud. My brother: so clueless.

"Just answer the question please," I growled, a little irritable.

He frowned, but then his face became thoughtful. "I dunno," he said after a short pause, "I guess it's like a… forest green color? But what does that have to do with it? Green is green."

"If you say so."

"Are you gonna help me or not? 'Cuz so far none of your advice is helpful. What the hell _are _these dreams?" He demanded.

"Psh. I dunno. Maybe they're what you wish would happen?" I guessed.

"I wish I was 30 with a wife and a kid?" He scoffed.

"You could. Deep down, maybe?"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. We both know I don't."

I got up from the couch, deciding that he wouldn't take my help if I gave it to him. I couldn't tell him how he felt. I could with Brick, he was open-minded, but Butch had to realize by himself or not realize at all.

"Where are you going?" Butch growled.

I had shrugged, then yawned. "I'm goin' to bed. We'll hit Townsville again tomorrow, Brick says."

He lay down on the bed, and he folded his arms behind his bed. "A'ight. I'll see you in the morning. I don't think I'll be able to sleep again."

This worried me, but I didn't let this show on my face. "Okay. Good night."

He scoffed. "Hardly."

And that was the last we'd spoken until the morning. Or really, now.

This short moment of solemnity in the car had made me recall the events of last night, but then I caught Butch giving me a glare, and I wiped my thoughts clean, ready for new things.

"Let's hit the guys in the bank first," Butch suggested, taking his keys out of the ignition, depositing them in the pocket of his cargo pants, and opening his door.

I shrugged, and I unbuckled my seat belt and hopped out of the jeep. "Fine with me."

Before going into the bank, we opened up his trunk and took out a neon green sweatshirt and a sky blue sweatshirt. They were both frilly looking with a few hearts on them, and this was our goal.

We put them on, and I grimaced as I realized that they fit a bit tightly, but I just sighed and pulled the hood up over my head, ready for action.

I turned to Butch who was currently taking a shower in baby powder. "Light colors, remember?" He sighed.

I muttered a curse under my breath and took the baby powder, drowning myself in its innocent scent.

We made our way across the parking lot, smashing a few windows and slashing a few tires of a few of the customer's cars before we finally got to the front of the building.

Once there, Butch opened his mouth and let out a yell so loud that it couldn't be heard by the average human ears, and it shattered the glass front of the bank. I heard the alarm begin to sound, and a few screams of desperate people.

We rushed into the bank, and I made myself glow dark blue—although it looked light blue because of the baby powder that faded it's hue.

"Everybody freeze!" Butch yelled in a feminine voice that, to my surprise, sounded a lot like Buttercup's voice.

Everyone did as "Buttercup" said and put their hands on their heads and crouched down.

I smirked in satisfaction, and we stalked over to a blonde receptionist in a navy blue business suit with makeup applied a bit too heavily.

"Give me twenty thousand dollars. Right now," I demanded in my own feminine voice.

"Twenty thousand?" The receptionist questioned, "Why twenty thous—"

But she didn't get to finish, because Butch cut her off sharply as he fired a few lasers from his eyes at the stack of papers in front of her, burning a hole through them and the mahogany desk that she was sitting at. She screamed.

The lady was a bit too hurried as she rushed to the back of the room and returned a few seconds later, stumbling over her feet, with a silver suitcase.

"Here! Take it all!" She begged, and she shoved it in my sleeve-colored hands.

I pushed it back at her. "I want twenty thousand. _Exactly _twenty thousand."

And so I made her carefully count the hundred dollar bills in the case until I had exactly 200 in my hand. I saw Butch bite back a chuckle. She thought that the counting of this money was keeping all of the people in this room alive—that all the pressure was on her shoulders. In this situation, she wasn't the hero… just the lady that gave in too easily.

With the 200 bills in my hands, we smashed through a few cubicles, slammed a few people against the walls, and exited the gas station.

After that, we flew around town for a few minutes, just to say that we _owned_ this town. Err—the PowerPuff Girls owned this town.

By the time we circled back to Butch's jeep, a sufficient amount of people had already begun to gather around the semi-ravaged bank. A few news vans were already parked in the parking lot, and some cameras were already rolling.

I caught sight of a news lady gravely stating facts into the camera when we landed, and was aware of the camera passing over the lady's head to catch a shot of me. From the corner of my eye, I saw Butch wave at the camera, and he pressed his hand to his mouth and blew it a kiss. You couldn't see his mouth of course, but it didn't matter. The point was made across.

We realized that if Butch pulled out his keys and started the car, we could be followed and figured out, so we simply heaved his car over our heads together, and we began to fly off toward the gas station with it.

Once in the sky, I heard Butch snicker and I looked down to see the people below us staring in amazement as we used our superhuman strength to calmly cross over the panicking city of Townsville with a few thousand pounds.

When we were far enough away, we decided to land and begin to drive again. We landed in a grove of trees a few feet from the highway, and I suggested to simply pushing the car onto the highway again, but Butch shook his head and flashed me a smile as he whipped off his hood.

"Naah," He chuckled, "I haven't showed you off-road driving, have I?"

Actually, he had. It hadn't gone well. When the air bag had gone off, the weight of my body had popped it immediately. I hadn't gotten hurt, of course.

I just groaned and got in the car as he inserted the key into the ignition and pressed the pedal to the metal.

To say the least, it was a pretty bumpy ride. We nearly ran into some trees, barely dodged a few deer, and we hit a few rocks, but we finally pulled into the parking lot of the gas station about fifteen minutes later.

This time, though, I hadn't had to listen to 80s music. This time, he made me listen to The Beastie Boys.

Butch parked in his customary spot by my silver Mazda convertible, and then he jumped out of the jeep and slammed the door behind him. I followed suit, although I didn't slam as hard as he had.

He rushed towards the gas station, throwing over his shoulder, "Let's see if Brick already has 'em watching what we did!"

I noticed that he seemed a bit too excited to see the look on the girls' faces. I couldn't help but wonder if he was excited to see ONE face more than the others.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N**

**Aaaaand I'm back!**

**Thanks so much for the reviews/favorites/followers!**

**Shewolfgang: Awww thanks! I'm glad you think so! :D**

**She-Pirates-KICK-butt: I'll see what I can do with your ideas! (Thanks for 'em by the way ;))**

**Meli31295: Yeah! Haha. Butch is a bit of an airhead :)**

**Ppgrulz123: Thanks! I just remembered the men posing as the PPGs for some reason. I guess it's kinda like that! I forgot about that episode…**

**Mew Pancake: Aww thanks! =3**

**KeroNya: Super person? Well… I try. Thank you! :)**

**Jenaca: Thanks! And obviously, I HAVE written more **

**Vwvanlover: I put a little bit more of Butch and Buttercup in here. The chemistry is slowly growing… thankfully. They're both clueless though! xD**

**Anonymous reviewer: Thank you! :)**

**Bubblycutie: Uh… I have updated! Haha.**

**Pink Moon Witch: Thank you! And Boomer IS smarter than he looks! ;)**

**Meyrin-x-ZAFTgirl: He might… A gas station bathroom usually has like… two toilets right? So if he broke one they'd still have another ;) Thanks for reviewing!**

**FKS: Awww… thanks! Haha. I'm glad you love me?**

**Alexandera: Really? Thank you so much! I'm glad you like my story! :)**

**Sey-ukftw: Thanks! I really tried to make the Boomer/Butch part really sweet. And I would be so completely freakin' honored if you drew some fan-art! I've tried… and I absolutely suck at drawing. If you do draw some, give me the link! With your permission, maybe I could make it like… the official art of the story? If not, that's okay. It's still cool to see art! :)**

**And thanks to: She-Pirates kick-BUTT, Pink Moon Witch, DCFan4EverCSHK, N3Mo, The Winds of Chaos, legitforreal, Alexandera, Saisix, and JKSketchy for favoriting/following the story! (If I have forgotten to mention anyone, it is a total and complete mistake on my behalf, and I apologize!)**

**So last chapter I wrote from Boomer's POV. This time, I figured I should write from Bubbles' POV. After all, I haven't written from her views since the chapter where she had the weird professor-doe dream and Boomer came to visit her.**

**Also… things are gonna heat up a bit after the next chapter… I promise!**

**So… without further ado…. Here's chapter 15!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.**

(Bubbles POV)

I tried to shrink back into my seat as Buttercup's screams filled the small room, yet again. I couldn't sink back though, I realized as the pain in my ribs pulsed through me yet again.

Instead, I emitted a small squeak and closed my eyes as the pain faded away.

I had forgiven Boomer for kicking me so hard… he'd been trying to protect the relationship that was trying to be made between us… right? We were made for each other! Well, actually, he was made for me.

I opened my eyes again when the pain subsided and glanced over at my sisters.

Buttercup was thrashing around in her chair again. While it was getting old, I knew she would never stop. My big sister never gave up.

Truthfully, when I had tried out for the cheerleading squad in the 6th grade, I hadn't made it.

I came home with tears streaming down my cheeks, and I'd told my sob-story at the table: A mean girl had tripped me, and I'd fallen flat on my face during one of the routines. I was sort of clutzy to begin with anyway…

Blossom had given me a sympathetic look and a soft whine, and the professor had patted me on the back reassuringly.

"You'll get 'em next time, sweet heart," He'd said.

Buttercup hadn't said a word all dinner, and I thought it was because she was lost in her thoughts again.

Afterwards, when I was in my room doing my math homework, I'd received a knock on my door.

I opened it cautiously, and found that my dark-haired sister was standing in the doorway. Her green eyes were unreadable, and this scared me. Had I done something wrong?

She'd motioned me to follow her with a sly smile.

"What is this?" I had demanded as she had taken me down the stairs and into the backyard. As we stood in the lawn in the backyard with the sun dipping behind the mountains in the distance, my sporty sister had put her hands on her hips.

"I'm gonna train you," She had announced.

I'd laughed. "What? Are you serious? You're not a cheerleader! And even if you were, I don't need training."

She shook her head. "What you lack, little missy—"she pressed a finger to my chest—"Is high stamina. You wear out quickly because you're only used to flips and crap like that. We need to work on your upper and lower body strength. Meaning I need to drill you like a soccer coach."

I gaped. "You'd really help me?"

She'd looked at me incredulously. "Sure? You're my only little sister!"

And so for the next eight months we had trained, and trained, and trained, and trained…and trained. Every time I would miss our goal by ten, or by a minute, or whatever we were measuring by, she would make me do it again. But she'd do it with me.

She'd never given up. She'd made sure that I was what she thought to be amazing before she set me loose again.

When I'd tried out for cheerleading again in the 7th grade, I'd been one of the first to make it.

From that moment I knew that you could not underestimate, nor could you give up on, Buttercup Utonium.

I predicted Blossom's position before I saw it.

My fire-haired sister was forcing herself back into her chair, her face was completely emotionless, but her eyes were ablaze with red lava. I could see from here that they were dripping with contempt and hatred.

She was staring straight ahead at her counterpart as he looked at the scene on the TV screen in front of us.

The people featured were supposed to be Buttercup and me, but it was obviously Butch and Boomer. They were robbing banks, taking weird amounts of money—which concerned the police that they were "planning something"—flying around, and committing strange vandalisms.

I couldn't believe it! Could this guy on the screen REALLY be the same Boomer that had shared a kiss with me only a couple of nights ago? Was he the same Boomer that had kicked me THIS hard in the chest? The one that was causing me physical and emotional pain?

As my focus on the screen was really returning to me, so was my hearing.

Buttercup was still screaming at Brick, using her usual lines of vulgarities and adding in a few made up sentences that were supposed to frighten the red-headed boy in front of us.

"You stupid ass! That's what you are! Someday, some wizard's gonna like, transform you into a donkey! And then some 600 pound fat guy'll ride you around until your legs break! And then they'll cut you up and feed you to their dogs!" She shouted.

Brick looked at her with a raised eyebrow. He chuckled.

"Um, first of all… While there may be superheroes, there is MOST DEFINITELY no sorcerers. Everything in this world has a scientific explanation, and the proper term for a "600 pound fat guy" is "a majorly obese male." And I don't think dogs like the taste of donkey," He corrected her.

Blossom actually uttered a laugh, and Buttercup stared over at her in shock. I realized that this was probably something Blossom would have said if they had gotten into an argument.

Suddenly, the doors opened and light poured into the room.

"Good morning, Sunshine!" Came Butch's voice, and as he rounded the corner of the theatre chairs, he looked directly at Buttercup. "Miss me?"

"Like a nerd misses his textbook on the weekends," She said sarcastically, casting a quick glance over at Brick, who crossed his arms and glared at her.

Butch cracked one of his light-up-the-room-in-sarcasm smiles and laughed. Buttercup smirked, but she didn't utter a sound. She was holding it in. I could tell.

"Why are you doing this?" Blossom demanded, cutting Butch and Buttercup's moment short, which I regretted. Maybe if I could get one sister to like her counterpart as much as I did, the other would give in too.

Brick tilted his head. "Why are we doing what?"

Boomer chuckled. "Yeah! Butch can't help but flirt with Buttercup!"

Butch snorted, but I noticed his face redden a little bit. "She _wishes _I was flirting!"

"_You _wish you had the maturity of an eight-year-old!" Buttercup fired back. They began to get into an insult-match again, but Blossom cut them short as she had done before.

"I _mean _why are you tearing us down like this? There are other ways! Do you really have to destroy everything we've ever known _just_ to get even?" Blossom snarled.

Brick nodded fervently. "Yes. We never liked it here. Why do you think it was so easy for us to go away and train to kill you guys for all of those years?"

From across the room, I saw Boomer's eyes widen. "Shut up, Brick. Shut up, shut up, shut up!" He pleaded in barely a whisper, looking up to the heavens. Brick didn't hear him. I could tell from Boomer's reaction to Brick's start of his gloat-spree that the red-head had an ample amount of pride.

Blossom smirked. "You went away to _train?_" She asked incredulously. "We don't even have our powers anymore!"

"That's a lie," Butch coughed.

Brick nodded and a sly smile turned up the corners of his mouth. "Even the villains that you've forgotten about know that it's a lie."

"Forgotten about?" Buttercup snarled, "They're all I ever think about! I'm still on the lookout for them!"

"Where are they, anyway?" I asked, sounding a lot calmer than my sisters, to my dismay.

It was a weak question, I knew, to admit that we were absolutely clueless about their location, but hey, I was curious.

Everyone turned to stare at me, and I felt extremely self-conscious.

"If you must know," Brick began, "They all retired. They got tired of waiting for something extraordinary to happen here again. They went into hiding, like us, when your powers were banned. They got bored. Lost their way. But they still want revenge."

"And so you're here to take it for them? And not just by hurting _us _but hurting the town that condemned them?" Blossom prompted.

Brick smiled. "You just _might _be me counterpart," He said, casting a look over at the other redhead.

Blossom narrowed her eyes, a lint blush tinted her cheeks, and she looked away.

"How do you know that we _do _have our powers?" Buttercup prompted, speaking for the first time in a while.

Butch laughed. "We can see through things remember?"

Heat rushed up from the tips of my toes to the ends of my pigtails. See through things? Did he mean they could see power running through our veins? Or… other things? I shivered.

I thought Butch had a cute aspect, but he wasn't for me. I was going to make sure that he would be for Buttercup, and Buttercup only.

"What does that mean?" Buttercup growled, oblivious to the dirty thoughts that circulated through my mind, and Blossom's mind I was sure.

Butch took another breath to speak but Boomer beat him to it.

"It means that we have this certain feel around people who have powers, and we get that feel around you three. Still," He added.

Everyone was quiet for a minute. In this brief pause, I read everyone's faces.

Blossom: Thoughtful. Brick: Impatient. Buttercup: Angry. Butch: Sarcastic. Boomer: Apologetic. I realized he was looking at me. I let a look of understanding and adoration glaze over my eyes, letting him know that it was okay, and that I understood. He had been forced to hurt me.

A hard look suddenly passed over Boomer's face, and he looked all of us over again. His eyes rested on me briefly, and then he looked away, his handsome face covered in shadows. I couldn't make out an expression, but I felt that he was thinking about something, and thinking heavily.

Butch yawned loudly, and pretended to check his watch for the time. He was wearing a navy-green T-shirt, and his arms were bare, so it was easy to see that he had no watch attached to his arm.

"Well… we'd better go," He sighed, "Y'know… places to go, people to hurt."

"I'm gonna hurt _you _when I get outta here!" Buttercup snarled, and she lunged at him again.

Butch made a purring sound and wiggled his eyebrows. "Feisty are we?"

"You have no idea," Blossom sighed, and she rolled her eyes.

Without another word, the boys crossed the room to the door. My eyes followed all of them to see that Boomer exited the room last. As he turned to close the door, I saw the look in his eyes: Determination.

A message passed between the two of us, and although there were no words spoken, I knew exactly what was going to happen.

And it was going to happen tonight.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N**

**It's me again! (Oh no, right? Sorry for my long author's notes…)**

**Mew Pancake: Next chapter! And it's actually a bit earlier than I thought! :)**

**Pink Moon Witch: Thank you! And yeah, they're relationships are growing slowly, but surely! :)**

**Alexandera: You're not being a creep at all! Hehe. I'm so glad you love my story!**

**Meyrin-x-ZAFTgirl: Yeah, randomness is awesome! :D**

**Meli31295: Maybe Boomer will help them… maybe not? =3**

**Ppgrulz123: Sorry… I have to say, I'm a cliffhanger addict :)**

**Lydia: Thank you! I really try to make each POV different in views and such. It might seem like I could have a split personality? Haha.**

**N3MO: Actually… I kinda used your note-idea in this chapter. Thanks for it, by the way ;)**

**Shewolfgang: *****internet hug back***** Thanks! And THANK YOU for reading! ;)**

**KeroNya: I love that word! That's awesome! You should write your own dictionary! ;)**

**Canzie: Thanks! :)**

**FKS: I tried to give them all semi-even roles. I know not everyone loves the sweethearts, (Me included), but I didn't think it was fair to leave them out. Thanks for noticing my efforts! :)**

**Bubblycutie: Oh my! X3**

**Vwvanlover: That's a question I haven't considered… maybe I'll make her give up in a chapter soon? Thank you for reading!**

**Pikalover10: Thank you! :)**

**Sey-ukftw: Red action soon, I promise. I'm so glad you love it!**

**Wildone97: Yeah, like I said, I love cliffhangers :). The marriage idea was very good, and I semi-used it. It's kind of like that, but not. Thank you for your suggestions!**

**xXMidnightFireHeartxX: Thanks for reading! :)**

**And thanks to: Alexandera, Randavera, , and MaeEmma for favoriting/following! And thanks to: N3Mo, wildone97, and she-pirates KICK-butt for giving me ideas for this story. Some I have not used directly, but I still give them credit :)**

**So, in this chapter, I'm going to write Butch's very last dream.**

**I put a lot of thought into this one, because I wanted it to be the most important one and for it to have the most symbolic-ness. The first one was kind of like a confusion thing, and a little introduction to his dreams. The second one was just for the fuzzy feelings, and this one is going to be a bit more intense.**

**Please enjoy! Things are going to really intensify after this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

Chapter 16

(Butch's POV)

I glanced over at her from my place in the driver's seat, finding it quite easy to take my eyes off of the road. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my eighteen years of life.

She had hair the color of a raven's wing, and it fell to just past her shoulder blades. It was always messy like she didn't give much care about how it looked, but I liked it like that. It fit her in a way. Her eyes were the color of jade, but a lot of the time, when she was angry, they would light up to a neon green. Because of her dark hair and light eyes, her skin looked a little milkier than the normal, but I didn't care. I was like this, too. I felt at home with her, regardless of her snappy attitude.

When my gaze strayed from what was in front of me to the passengers seat again, she looked up at me. A frown placed itself on her face.

"What?" She demanded, "Is there something on my face?"

I chuckled softly and reached over to cup one side of her face with my hand. She touched it gently with a fingertip, and then we both pulled away.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

As I pulled into the parking lot of my destination, I gestured to the bright, blinking lights above us. Even though we were in my green, almost soundproof, jeep, we could still hear the noise of the carnival.  
"We're going to a museum," I told her, and I flashed her a smile.

I parked in a space closer to the back, and she shoved me lightly. I fell against the door with a sharp _smack! _And a throaty laugh escaped my throat.

She couldn't help but crack a smile as well. "Quit with the sarcasm, will you?"

"Naah. But for you? Hey, I'll try."  
She rolled her eyes, and got out of the jeep.

We had fourteen days left before we were declared official adults. My girlfriend and I had been seniors at the Townsvillle Highschool for the required amount of time now, and it was almost time for graduation. With graduation my brothers and I would be shipped off to some form of military school (for our criminal records, of course!) and my poor girlfriend would be left here… all by herself for the entire summer. Or a couple of years, no doubt. This was the last night we would ever have together, completely alone and worry free.

As we met by the hood of my car, she must have noticed my distant look. She reached up and touched my cheek, and I caught her hand and regarded her warmly.

"Hey, no worrying tonight, 'kay?" She scolded me, reaching up with her other hand to poke me in the chest.

I smiled. "'Kay."

Still holding onto her hand, I let my arm droop to my side. My hand slid up until our palms met, and our fingers meshed together.

We walked across the parking lot until we got to the ticket booths. From there we stood in a long line for about thirty minutes until we finally got up to the cruddy little wooden box-office with the bored teenager standing inside of it. He was a little on the geeky side, but I didn't say anything.

"Two tickets for uh… everything please," I told him, and I held up my hundred dollar bill. I slid it under the glass paneling between us and cracked him my best smile. "Keep the change."

He nodded, still bored, and handed me our wristbands. As I passed him, I heard him whisper, "Nice chick!"

I grimaced. I didn't like other guys referring to her that way, and by the death glare she was giving him, she didn't like it either.

We entered the gates and stood in the center of a large street that was congested with people. I briefly let go of her hand to take out the map I had picked up at the front to look around the entire place.

"Wow," I muttered. "Where do you wanna go first?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. Just don't make it boring."

I laughed. "Anything for you, Sunshine."

The first thing we hit was the food stands. I bought her a corn dog, some nachos, and a funnel cake. Every time we went some place with rides, we would try to get each other sick. This included eating various foods, going on a myriad of spinning-rides, and other more painful things.

Catching onto my challenge, my girlfriend laughed once and looked up at me with determination in her eyes. "You're on, loser."

The next thing I took her to was the house of mirrors. Sometimes if she looked at herself after eating, her face would turn green and she'd puke immediately. While this was gross and kind of awkward, I thought it made her look cute. She had some form of weakness.

Sadly, the house of mirrors didn't work this time, so I took her to a bigger rollercoaster. This one was green—her favorite color—and it turned upside down about three times, and reached a height of about three-thousand feet with abrupt drop offs. I smiled to myself. Surely this one would get her!

But, once again, it didn't. She was so unpredictable! This was one of the many things that I liked about her.

Next came the log ride. With water, bumps in the road, and a cliff, I thought I couldn't go wrong!

Nothing happened this time either. As we got off the ride, I looked around for a new one. Sadly, I couldn't find anything else.

"Dude, are you serious?" I groaned, taking out my map and perusing it again for more fun, radical coasters to ride.

She giggled and poked my broad chest. "Face it, man! I won!"

I smirked, but then my eyes lit up and another smile found its way to my face. "Fine."

I grabbed onto her hand, and found my way to the last ride; a ride that wasn't radical at all, unless you were afraid of heights.

"What's my prize?" She asked flirtatiously.

I glanced down at her evilly. "You'll see."

We boarded onto the last ride of the night: The Farris Wheel. She groaned.

"This is so lame!"

As we got into one of the little green cages that would take us up to the top and sat down together on one of the cheaply upholstered seats, I looked over at her with a knowing smirk. "Is it?"

"Yes!"

"Well… we're alone together, in a little cage, that's about—" I looked out the window,"—thirty feet off the ground. I don't really find that lame."

She shoved me away from her playfully with a little chuckle. "You're awful!"

I leaned forwards, cocking an eyebrow as I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close. "Am I?"

Lightning split the sky open and thunder boomed, and in the brief flash of light, I saw her face again. Her eyelashes shadowed the area under her jade green eyes, and her full lips were curled upward in the ghost of a smile. She was leaning towards me too, apparently expecting the same thing I was.

Our lips met, and she pressed against my chest, making the kiss deeper. She let out a soft moan and wrapped her arms around my neck, clinging to my black hair and tangling her fingers in it as well.

I closed my eyes to further feel the passion and parted my lips for a breath. We weren't dirty kissers, so tongues didn't collide or anything.

After a few seconds of this, we separated and I put my arm around her shoulders. Raindrops pattered against the roof in a heavy torrent. Had it started raining? I hadn't noticed.

Suddenly, the cage we were in screeched to a halt. Both of us looked up, expecting to see the ride director inserting the key into the lock that protected us from falling out, but the only thing I saw was the vast cityscape before me. It was distorted by rain, and lightning lit up the sky in the distance. I craned my neck to see over the railing of the cage, and I saw that we were a good fifty feet off of the ground.

"What's happening?" My girlfriend muttered, and as lightning flashed again I saw the grim assumption in her eyes.

"Nothing's after us, I promise," I told her, cupping her face in my hands and leaning forward to place a light kiss on her forehead.

She sat back, crossing her arms, but didn't say another word as a frown turned down the edges of her mouth.

Suddenly, I felt the car lurch around us. "See? The director-guy probably accidentally pressed the wrong—" But my words were cut short.

I heard a sharp scraping sound from far below us, along with the screaming of people. Both of us bolted onto our feet, and I prepared to jump up and rip the metal ceiling of the cage apart, but it was too late.

Another scraping sound sounded from right above us, and our cage plummeted to the ground. We hit the ground with such an impact that the cage split in two and rolled apart. As the cage split in two, we had to separate to avoid huge damage. As I rolled out of dodge, I hoped she did too.

I leaped to my feet and peered around me, praying that she was okay. I saw her a few paces away, also standing, and a huge breath of relief heaved itself out of both of us.

Before I could take another step towards her, something hit me with full force from behind. I fell to my knees with a curse and I heard her scream, "Butch!"

I rolled over onto my side with a great amount of pain to stare up at the thing that had hit me. A masked figure stared down at me, and hard brown eyes met with mine.

This guy was here to hurt people! He was here to hurt _her!_ I kicked out with my legs and flung him off of me, and he landed on the metal of the cage with a sickening crunch. With that done, I stood up and wiped my hands on my dark denim jeans.

I still noted the screaming people, and so with a glance at my girlfriend, I began to rush towards our wrecked cage.

Before I could take two steps, I was stopped yet again. This time, however, I was _surrounded _by masked figures. Each one was wearing some form of dark sweatshirt and pants, and was carrying some sort of weapon. They ranged from metal baseball bats to crowbars to golf clubs.

I backed up, only to be shoved forward by another masked figure.

"Sorry," I panted, "I really don't like baseball _or _golf. I knew you guys were going to recruit me, though. I've always been the best at sports."

The masked figures dove forward, each one raising their weapon to beat the shit out of me, no doubt, but I lost my eyesight as my eyes began to glow red. I spun in a half circle, drilling a hole through each of my enemy's chests, before facing another scene: My girlfriend about ten feet away from me, also fighting it out with a bunch of jerks.

I had no doubt that she couldn't take them herself, I just didn't want her to get hurt.

As a feral noise escaped my mouth, I lunged forward and onto the back of one of the guys, bashing at his head with my fist. He fell forward onto his face, and before I could meet the ground as well, I leaped off and onto another guy, knocking him onto his back and pummeling my fists into my chests.

I looked over at my girlfriend, and a surge of love and pride went through me as I saw her knock down some goon, force his crowbar out of his hands, and swing it at someone else's head. Cold determination was making her jade-green eyes light up to a neon color.

As another dude jumped at me, and my fist collided with his chin, a realization popped into my mind. I hadn't done what I was supposed to do tonight! I swung at another guy and hit him in the stomach. After that, I looked over at her. Thunder boomed.

"Hey!" I shouted. She looked up at me, swinging a punch at some man's head. "Will you marry me?"

She gave me an incredulous look and spun around to kick someone in the gut with her boot. I took this time to bash someone's nose in.

"What?" She screamed back at me, but it wasn't disbelief, or scorn, or anything like that. She just hadn't heard me. I paused to shout the question at her again, but somebody hit me from behind with something hard and I fell to the ground.

As I stood up, I lashed out at the one who had injured me, and he slammed into the Farris Wheel with his buddy.

I wheeled around, searching for another enemy, but I found none around me. I turned to see my girlfriend fending off about ten of them.

With a growl I lurched forward and knocked someone in the head with my fist, and as he fell to the ground I looked to see that she was on the ground, clutching her stomach in pain while our enemy stood above her with a crowbar clamped firmly in his hand. Rage engulfed me and I reached out and wrenched his weapon from his hands. Defenseless, he backed away, but he wasn't safe from me. I kneed him in the stomach, and then I punched him in the nose.

I turned once again to see about fifty people on the floor, some masked goons, some innocent citizens. It hurt me to say it, but I could care less right now.

I hurried over to my girlfriend to see that she was crouching down with one knee on the floor, one knee up beside her, and that she was hunched over, still clutching her stomach.

As I approached her, she looked up, expecting another enemy. Her mouth opened and I saw she was gritting her teeth in pain. Her eyelashes were a visor over her eyes, but I still saw the pain, hate and determination in them. While she looked fierce, she also looked beautiful. I loved her most when I saw her ferocity.

I bent down, and I took her in my arms. I lifted her legs with one arm, and her upper-body with another, and I cradled her to my chest.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

She nodded, and looked away from me, refusing to admit a moment of weakness.

I smiled softly, deciding to ask again.

"Will you marry me?" I murmured softly, gently setting her down on her feet so I could use one hand to reach out and slowly turn her face towards me. I kept the other hand firmly on her waist.

She looked up at me, more confused than ever, and a shadow passed over her face. Without another hesitation, though, she smiled.

She leaned up and pressed her lips so hard against mine that I couldn't move the rest of my body. It was passionate, deep, and intense. Just like her.

"Yeah," She sighed, and she reached down to craftily slide her fingers through mine. "I think I will."

As I awoke, many emotions spread through me. Irritation, followed by desperation, followed by realization. That was it! I knew who it—no. No!

"DAMN IT!" I cursed, as the realization slipped away from me like it always did. I had almost had it! I had almost made myself figure out who she was! But of course, my stupid self had to forget.

I opened up my eyes and sat up, rubbing my head. My shaggy, damp hair tickled my fingers as I held my hand there against my forehead.

I yawned and stretched my hands up above my head. I suddenly realized, that it was still dark. I looked over at the door to see if I had shut it the night before, but it remained open. I smirked. _That's weird._

Why had I woken up so early? Then a thought occurred to me. Something woke me up.

I turned my head, and nearly jumped out of my skin. Brick was leaning against the wall next to the old mattress I had been sleeping on. He was wide awake, and staring at me with a grim expression.

"Jeez!" I yelled, "What the hell? Do you _always _have to do that?"

He just stared at me coldly, a calculating look in his eyes. I knew that look. He was trying to decide if I had done something or not. Then he stood on his feet and, and crossed his arms against his chest.

"The girls are gone."

My face paled slightly. "What do you mean? Do you mean they're like… dead?" This gave me slight satisfaction, but also a slight sadness and a bit of dread. I wondered why.

He shook his head, and his blood red eyes narrowed. "No. I mean _gone, _gone. They've escaped."

But I didn't need to hear his next words. For one, I had already guessed them. Secondly, they made me even more infuriated.

"Boomer's gone, too."

I snarled and leaped to my feet, off of the mattress, and I stormed over to the door. I flung it open and stomped across the main part of the gas station until I finally got over to the room we had been keeping them in.

I almost paused. What if I had been talking in my sleep and Brick had heard me muttering 'Will you marry me?' Would he try and embarrass me for revenge of saying such a thing by making me burst in here? Nah. I'd cover it up with my sarcastic charm like usual.

So as I flung the door open and stormed into the room, an awful sight greeted me: The theatre chairs at the front of the room contained no people. There were a few chains and locks strewn about, and that was it. I snarled and made my way over to the theatre chairs they had inhabited for the past few days, and I examined them.

Bubbles' chair was absolutely bare. She had left nothing. I looked over to Blossom's chair to find a sticky note. Brick's name was scribbled neatly in red lipstick.

I growled, and I picked up the note between my index and middle finger. Brick was standing in the doorway by now. I lifted the note as I gestured to it with my other hand.

"Did you see this?" I demanded. He nodded and walked over to me, icily calm. That was his way of being enraged.

"I was waiting until you saw them too to read them."

"Them?" I looked over towards Buttercup's chair to find a similar note, except it didn't say my name and it wasn't scribbled out in red lipstick.

The note was on a light blue sticky note, and in messy handwriting, the word '_asshole_' was written in black eyeliner.

I nearly laughed as I picked it up, and started to read.

_Butch,_ it said.

_Look up._

I blinked a few times, and read it over again. What kind of a clue was—oh.

I lifted my eyes to the ceiling, cautiously for once, I'll add, to find the soles of a shoe descending from the roof about five inches away from my nose.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N**

**Hallo. **

**Thanks so much to my reviewers/favorities/followers!**

**Animeskullgirl16: Thanks! Yeah, they are pretty evil. Sarcasm works for the greens, doesn't it? He'll wake up and realize he's being stupid soon ;)**

**xXMidnightFireHeartxX: Yeah, I tried to make Butch cute in that chapter. Thanks for reading!**

**Bubblycutie: Yeah, she does have a nice note! :) Thanks for reading!  
vwvanlover: Thank you! And thank you for reading! ;)**

**Jenaca: Hang Boomer? That's actually something I never thought of… haha. Thanks for putting that thought in my mind? And thanks for reading! ;)**

**Mew Pancake: Yeah, Butch is a forgetful thing ;). Thanks!**

**JadeTyga: Your question will probably be answered by the ending of this story, I promise! Also, I have not read 9 Months, but I looked it up, and read the prologue. I have to admit, it's great so far! And thanks for thinking my story is good. Also, thanks for reviewing at all! Haha. Thanks for reading! **

**Meyrin-x-ZAFTgirl: Thank you so much! :D**

**Rev-yon: I did a Blossom POV here, but there isn't much chemistry as she doesn't see Brick in this chapter. Sorry!**

**Pikalover10: Thanks! And… I've updated!  
ppgrulz123: Thanks! It could've been Buttercup… that question will be answered next chapter. Thanks for reading!  
Alexandera: I can't exactly explain it to you, I'm sorry! But you'll figure it out by the end of this chapter, and definitely by the beginning of the next chapter ;). Thanks for reading, by the way!**

**Pink Moon Witch: Aww, thanks! And it was Buttercup's foot in the end… just to clear it up, I guess. Thanks for reading! :)**

**Meli31295: Aww, thanks! :)**

**Sey-ukftw: Dude, I haven't seen POTC in sooo long… I really need to watch that! Thanks for reading! ;)**

**Shewolfgang: Thanks! I'm so happy you love it!**

**She-Pirates kick-BUTT: Awesome! I'm glad I made you laugh! *Cough* I try ;)**

**And thanks to: GhostWishper, and Arthur Art for favoriting/following! **

**So… I understand that the last part of the last chapter was probably very confusing, but these next two chapters should clear that up :)**

**This is going to be from Blossom's POV, so you can see what exactly happened to the Powerpuffs and Boomer.**

**Soooo… enjoy? :)**

**Chapter 17**

(Blossom's POV)

I hadn't been having a very eventful night anyway. I hadn't even been sleeping when I heard those quiet, sturdy footsteps begin to make their way towards the front row of the theatre seats that my sisters and I were currently sitting in.

I had only been planning to listen in to the conversation that was going to take place beside me. I was very good at keeping a straight face. It was why I was so amazingly good at any card game—although I never really played.

I heard a soft sound: kissing, I realized. I was glad that Buttercup wasn't awake. I, for one, was not happy about this little relationship that Boomer and Bubbles had going on, but Buttercup would have started cussing (loudly, may I add) and would have alerted the other Rowdyruffs.

What I didn't expect though, were the words: "I'm gonna get you out of here, alright?"

It shocked me so horribly, the fingers of my left hand twitched slightly. This minor movement didn't alert the two blondes that were beside me, thankfully.

I heard locks and ropes sliding loose and out of place, along with the rustle of clothes. I also heard the soft click of flip-flops as they hit the ground, the painful crack of Bubbles' ribs, and I also heard the joints in her legs tense up as they had to carry weight again for the first time in days.

Bubbles lifted her arms above her head to stretch, and she tightened the pig-tails on both sides of her head, as they had begun to come loose. She did this painfully of course, because of her ribs. Amazingly, the shower and body-spray after her cheerleading practice had not worn off. She still smelled like bubblegum. Boomer noticed this too, because I heard him inhale and sigh slightly.

After Bubbles had stretched to the amount that she thought would be sufficient enough, she turned to Boomer again.

I was expecting her to just run off with Boomer, and I was actually happy if she would. If the weakest-minded one was safe, I was happy.

Instead, I heard Bubbles whisper; "We're getting my sisters out of here too… right?"

Boomer snorted, "Of course!"

And then I felt strong hands pulling at my binds. Not only was I surprised, I was unsure of what my reaction should be. As the previous-leader of this team, I should stand up straight and demand that he go back to his brothers and pretend that he hadn't freed us, although I would thank him for doing the task. The new person that I had become told me not to. It told me to follow him like the measly girl I now was, just so that my sisters and I could run to safety.

Once my binds were cut, I opened my eyes groggily. I was thankful that I hadn't decided to open my eyes, because if I did, my groggy look wouldn't be as convincing.

I looked up at Boomer in the most confused look I could manage.

"Wha—what?" I said in a voice groggy from sleep.

"I'm getting you and your sisters out of here," he muttered, pausing only to look me in the eye. Good sign, I noted. Stupid boys usually didn't give eye contact with girls because they thought they were superior. Some of Bubbles' ex-boyfriends had done such antics.

Although I already knew the answer to this question, I wanted to hear him say it.

"Why?" I prompted.

Boomer bit his lip, and looked over at Bubbles unsurely. He must have found her usual sweet smile, and so he met my eyes again with renewed strength.

"Because I'm in love with your sister. Bubbles, I mean," He added.

I raised an eyebrow at him, and I answered truthfully. When Bubbles had told us about her little romance, this was the first thing I had thought.

"We'll see if you're worthy enough," I responded, and sat up to rub my sore wrists.

When I had risen to my feet, Boomer moved to free Buttercup.

"Wait!" Bubbles whispered loudly, and she stepped painfully to Boomer's side.

"Why?" Boomer asked, and although he was looking down to meet her eyes and shadows covered his face, I could see a faint blush tinting his cheeks.

Bubbles turned her head so she could look at me, and I knew immediately what she was hinting at. I had the leader-like personality here! I should have been the first to realize that!

I moved to the other side of Buttercup's chair.

Boomer gave us both a skeptic look.

I rolled my eyes. "Do you _know _Buttercup? Wait, you don't even _have _to know her! You grew up with Butch! What would he do if he had been crazily angry before he went to sleep?"

Boomer's mouth formed an understanding "O" shape. He turned to Bubbles.

"Do you think your hands are strong enough to untie the knots?" He asked quietly. She squeezed her hands together, and she nodded unsurely.

I realized that Bubbles wasn't strong enough right now with her injured ribs to hold back a raging Buttercup, and my insides fluttered. I couldn't help it. Aww! He was being so thoughtful!

A frown crossed my face as I wondered if Brick would have done the same for me. I couldn't answer that question.

Brick was cute. Well… maybe a little more than cute… more like striking, or any synonym for "gorgeous." I wasn't going to admit that to myself or anyone else, though. While Brick had his good looks, I wasn't sure if he had a good personality to complete the attractiveness. From what I knew about his background, he was smart. Those were the three things I looked for in a guy, if I ever wanted one (which wasn't often.) He had to be cute, sweet, and smart. So far, Brick had only two of those qualities. I nearly smacked myself in the face. What was I _doing? _He was the ENEMY!

While I had been battling with my emotions, Boomer had moved to take Bubbles' place on the other side of the chair, and Bubbles was now in front of Buttercup's chair.

With a swift nod from her counterpart, Bubbles began to untie the knots on Buttercup's binds.

My dark haired sister began to stir. Her lips opened slightly, and then they closed again, and she scrunched up her nose and wrinkled her brow. When her ropes were loosened enough for her to actually move, she opened up her eyes. They weren't jade green like usual, but a glazed-over neon color.

As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, she took in her surroundings. She peered up at Bubbles questioningly, and raised an eyebrow. Then she looked down at her hands to find that she could move them again.

Her shoulders tensed, and she looked in my direction.

"What's happening?" She demanded sharply.

"We're leaving," I whispered, "Come on."

Buttercup was on her feet in an instant, ready to finally get the hell out of this place.

But that was when she noticed Boomer.

Her eyes darkened dramatically, and a growl escaped her lips.

"You!" She snarled, and she stalked towards him. "Who do you think you are? You can't just—just use your stupid freaking charm that all of you seem to have on us to use my sister!" She lunged, but Bubbles, who was the closest to her, yanked her back. She winced in pain and gripped her side, but she shook it off.

"Hey, we don't need this right now, okay?" She sighed.

Buttercup narrowed her eyes, but shook off the ropes, chains, and belts that still clung to her and walked away from the chairs.

She raised an eyebrow and looked towards Boomer again.

"It's just you… right?" She prompted.

Boomer nodded slowly, and frowning slightly. "Yeah… why?"

Buttercup shrugged nonchalantly. "No reason."

I bit my lip. I waited for a few seconds to see if Buttercup was going to start her questioning as she always did. I waited for the questions: _'Why are you here? Why are you helping us? Have you done ANYTHING with Bubbles?'_

But instead, she just looked away, a rebellious look on her face.

Boomer examined all of our faces briefly, and then he motioned towards the door. "Come on," he whispered, and he walked towards the door so he could make sure that his brothers weren't lying in wait outside.

After a few seconds, he looked toward us and inclined his head towards the main part of the gas station.

"Come on," he mouthed.

At this, my sisters and I snuck quietly over to join him. With an unsure look towards me, and a frightened look towards Buttercup, he took Bubbles' dainty hand in his own strong one, and moved towards the door.

When we all reached the door and had exited the building, Boomer exhaled in relief.

"Alright. Here's the plan," Boomer said, "We're going to take Butch's jeep."

Buttercup began to protest—I guessed that she didn't want to touch anything that belonged to him—but Boomer shushed her.

"The reason why we're taking _his _car is because one of us can sit in the back and defend the rest of us if they wake up and follow us before we can make a clear escape," He explained.

We all looked towards Buttercup, whose eyes had lightened up viciously. She raised her hand and narrowed her eyes in determination. "I volunteer."

With that sorted out, Boomer led Bubbles over to the passengers seat and helped her climb inside. He walked around the front of the car to the drivers seat and quietly opened the door. Before lifting himself up, he turned to Buttercup and I.

"Do you guys need help getting into the car, too?" He asked teasingly, almost as if he were our brother.

I snorted and shook my head, and Buttercup just growled.

He shrugged. "I just thought I'd ask." And then he climbed in and closed the door.

I walked over to the back of the jeep with Buttercup, and opened it up for her.

"Okay… so I guess we'll just open up the window so you can get a good shot if they follow us," I decided, and I unlocked the back window for her. "Do you think you can get into the back by yourself?"

My green eyed sister gave me a dirty look. "Do I _look _like a cripple?"

I put up my hands in the 'back off' gesture, and backed up to get into the back of the car.

We waited for Buttercup to adjust comfortably in the back, and once she closed the back door, Boomer quietly started the jeep, and backed out of the parking lot of the gas station.

We were in complete silence on the way to Townsville. The only communication was between Bubbles and Boomer when Bubbles had lay her hand on the space between the two chairs in the front, and Boomer had reached down to lace his fingers through hers.

I smirked when I saw this, but looked out of the window and said nothing.

When we reached the town, I forced myself to look at the place I had lived in my entire life.

Nearly half of the familiar buildings had been burned to the ground, and people were running amuck through the streets. Some, I realized, were children covered in ash. This made my heart ache.

We had to fix this. Now.

We pulled into one of the parking lots that didn't belong to a building anymore, but a few piles of ashes, and a lot of debris.

Boomer got out first, and he sprinted around the front of the jeep to help Bubbles take her seat belt off, and he lifted her out of the vehicle. I would have been annoyed, but I know Buttercup would have been fuming. Bubbles thought that his constant worrying about her was sweet.

After the lovebirds had shared a small peck on the lips outside of the jeep, I had permitted myself to get out of the vehicle myself and make my go to open the door for Buttercup.

I couldn't see her through the open window, but I assumed that she was lying down.

"So much for this, huh?" I sighed, "You could've just sat in the back with me. I don't think you would've wanted to, though. The blondes were making lovey-dovey eyes toward each other the entire time."

I didn't hear her groan of disgust, and I guessed that she was asleep. Not wanting to wake her and earn a hurricane of grumpiness, I silently swung the back door of the jeep open.

But nothing was there.

I stood on my tiptoes to look over the seat to see if she had climbed over in her usual impatience.

Nothing.

I knew what happened, though. Buttercup was famous for holding grudges. She had stayed back to get her revenge on Butch and Brick. Butch would probably get the worst of it, knowing my little sister.

I closed my eyes, and I rounded the jeep to find Bubbles leaning on the jeep, and Boomer with one arm extended to lean heavily on the jeep as well, but in front of her and only a few inches from her face.

I scrunched up my nose in slight disgust, but otherwise ignored this. There would be more of this in the future, if all went well.

"Guys," I said sharply. "Buttercup's not here."

Their faces both turned to meet mine.

"What?" Boomer exclaimed.

"She never got in the back. She's back at the gas station."

Bubbles' joyful face turned into a look of horror. I guessed that the same thoughts I had previously had were going through her mind.

"I have to go back for her," Boomer said immediately, and he moved to get back into the jeep, but I dove forward to stop her.

"No," I said sharply, feeling the long-forgotten juices of power and leadership flowing through my veins, "I have to go back. You and Bubbles work best together, since you're counterparts. And if you go back, they'll overpower you. They know _your _personal weaknesses because they grew up with you. I have to go. They don't know Buttercup and me as well."

Boomer started to protest, but Bubbles put a hand on his chest to stop him. "She's right you know," She said softly.

Boomer frowned, but he looked up at me.

"Okay. Fly there. They should have noticed our absence by now. We'll stop any mobs if they happen—" he paused to look at Bubbles, "—and we'll free the professor."

I nodded, and turned to jump up into the sky.

It took me a few seconds to adjust to the feeling of the wind in my face again, as I had not felt it in years, but in only a few moments, I felt the familiarity of it.

The only problem now, was to get to my sister to fight two on two with the remaining Rowdyruffs… while my sister was still in the condition to fight.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N**

**Hai =3**

**Sooo… Chapter 18!**

**Thanks so much to my reviewers, followers, and favoriteers! (I made up a word!)**

**Jenaca: I didn't make it too clear in this chapter either about the feet, so I guess I should say that: The thing with that feet was that she was on the ceiling, waiting for them. When Butch looked up, she swung down and hit him in the face. Yup, that's about it! Haha. Thanks for reading!**

**Mew Pancake: Thank you! I figured I'd try and put some unexpected thing in there ;)**

**FKS: Epicness? Thanks a ton! :)**

**Bubblycutie: Soda sounds amazing right now! Holy crap! 200 reviewers already? Jeez… thanks for reviewing by the way!**

**Meli31295: Aww thanks! I'm glad you love it! :) Thanks for reading!**

**Pikalover10: Thank you so much for reading, and uh… demanding! It makes meh happeh :P**

**Vwvanlover: Thank you! :)**

**Sey-ukftw: Impulsive screaming is awesome! xD Thanks for reading! And I think I will watch Pirates… haha.**

**Sundepender: Aww I'm glad you think so! :)**

**She-Pirates kick-BUTT: Hah! I think I'll let you use your imagination ;)**

**Wildone97: I'm sooo glad you get it! This chapter is basically a huge fight scene, and so I put a ton of detail in it. I hope it's not agonizingly slow P:**

**Animeskullgirl16: Rogue's actually a good word for BC xD Thanks for reading!**

**Ppgrulz123: Thanks for reading! The only real couple is cute, I have to admit. The others are just kinda… flirty. It should heat up right about… now. :)**

**Shewolfgang: THANKS! :)**

**JadeTyga: No probs! It's my pleasure to include you in my authors notes :) Thanks for reading, and complimenting my story! I really appreciate it, it gives me like… self esteem, haha. 9 Months is actually, really good, I have to say again! And thanks for reviewing! ;)**

**Fallenheather: Thanks! I try to… rock? ;) Thank you so much for reading! And Buttercup is amazing. She's my favorite, too. I actually get my inspiration for Bubbles from my friend, and she is *****cough* kind of a biotch *cough*. I can understand where you're coming from when you say it. And also, thank you for reviewing! :)**

**Canzie: Okay, so… The shoes were Buttercup's shoes, because she was clinging to the ceiling. When Butch looked up, she swung down and kicked him in the face. Long story short ;) Thanks for reviewing!**

**xSerenityisn'talwaystheanswerx: Yeah, sappiness all the time would get really freakin' annoying, wouldn't it? ;) Congrats on your name change! :) Thanks for reviewing!**

**N3Mo: Me too! I'm honored you're relating to this! ;) Thanks for reading!**

**Ikuni Hattori: Thanks so much! :)**

**And also, thanks to: Fallenheather, Kai2, legitforreal, xoKaiHiwatariloverxo, Sensula, and Ikuni Hattori for favoriting and following! :)**

**I left off on an exciting part last time (At least I hope you think so) and so now, I must announce, that this chapter is basically a humongous fight scenes. I'm going to write this chapter in the most detailed detail I can. Please enjoy!**

**And also… you may be annoyed at me… but this is going to be another Butch POV. The reason for this is… well you'll just have to figure it out, won't you? If you don't already have a good idea.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but my ideas!**

Chapter 18

(Butch POV)

My face exploded into a heated bout of pain and a red haze glazed over my sight. With a cough, I leaped back and into a solid moving wall. The world went kind of hazy, and I could barely hear the voices around me. I could still hear the pounding of a girl's shoe and my face colliding. Someone grabbed me under my arms and hauled me up onto my feet. I could only let out a gasp as I was shoved onto my feet again.

I still could barely hear what was going on around me. Now it wasn't because of the pounding of my head, or the heaving of my chest. Now it was because I was angry. REALLY angry.

I dove forward, wrapping my arms around the closest thing that moved and slamming it down onto the floor. I began to punch blindly at the thing, but I couldn't seem to get my fist into any places. It was too fast.

With blinding speed, the legs of the person faced up and hooked into my stomach, pushing me a few feet away and onto my feet.

Adrenaline rushed through my veins, and at this, I let a smile spread across my face. I was aware that I was twitching, as was a habit I had possessed as a kid. A _weak _kid. I was stronger now. Hell, I was an animal now compared to what I used to be. And I was even fearful back then!

So as the twitches spread across my body, and I felt a subconscious gruesome snarl erupt from my throat, my eyesight came back to me.

I was in a room. A room with theatre seats, walls filled with televisions of all sizes, and a dirty, scummy carpet floor. I was surrounded by two people on either side: My brother Brick, whose face looked content and satisfied, and Buttercup, a Powerpuff girl… my counterpart. Her green eyes mirrored my own, except they were a lighter shade. We both had the same feelings toward each other at this moment: Hate, fury, and vengeful. Psh, I wouldn't admit it, and neither would she if she really did feel the same as I did, but I was even a little…lustful.

A weakness that I hadn't identified before about her hit me. She was on the floor, on her butt right now. It would take her longer to get up and come at me than it would for me to just lunge forward and take her out.

I glanced at Brick meaningfully for a few moments, my plan showing in my eyes, before I went forward with lightning fast speed, picked her up by the front of her shirt, and slammed her against a nearby wall—err, wall of TVs.

She gasped in pain and the televisions behind her head and legs exploded. The glass caved in, and a few sparks lit up the now-black rectangles without screens.

I pressed down on her with a harder force, making the TVs behind her back begin to crack and break as well. I wouldn't let her escape, not when I was so close to getting my revenge.

I didn't even need to call for Brick. He was behind me a millisecond after I had stopped Buttercup from struggling out of my grasp.

The dark-haired girl wouldn't look at us. Her head was down, her green eyes were fixed on the floor, and her features were masked by shadows. Brick was stubborn. He would only talk if he were given full attention—meaning eye contact.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his hand snake forward and he forced her chin up so she would look at him. I held back a growl. I was kind of territorial at the moment for some reason.

"Where are they?" Brick demanded, venom in his voice. The right side of her mouth lifted up into a half-smile/sneer, and her eyes narrowed viciously, but she let out a tiny grunt of pain. Apparently the shards of glass from the TVs I was pushing her into were sticking into her back a little too uncomfortably.

I let a few seconds pass, and when nothing else was said, I pulled her forward, and shoved her even harder than I had done before into the wall of televisions. She growled in pain and screwed her eyes shut, obviously trying to cope for as long as she could.

I turned to Brick and smiled at him, with a shake of my head.

"She really is your counterpart," He sighed, "Stupid, compulsive, and stubborn."

"Watch it," I snapped, annoyance pulsing through me, and I turned my head to look at her again.

"What were you thinking anyway?" I asked, my curiosity getting the better of me. "There are two of us, we're at least four inches taller than you and forty pounds heavier—with muscles—and there's only one of you."

She leaned forward, as if to tell me a secret, "'Cause I'm more mature than both of you put together."

"Mature as in, 'I've watched more adult films.' Or mature as in ''Cause I'm the mother, that's why?'"

She spat at me and leaned her head back against the wall of TVs. "Screw you!"

"Are you volunteering?" I teased, wiggling my eyebrows. Brick socked my shoulder then, and I turned to him with a scowl. "OW!"

"Stop flirting, man, let's get down to business. One captive's better than no captives," My older brother said.

I glared at him, but then I turned my head away from both of them to look over to the other walls of TVs. "I'm not flirting…"

"Whatever. Get her down from there, we'll put her in the car, and take her back to the retirement home. We'll let the old geezers take care of her, and then we'll come back for Boomer," Brick said, beginning to walk towards the door to hold it open for me.

I turned to Buttercup again, and hesitantly, I smashed her harder against the wall, and used one hand to forcefully slam her in the stomach. She grunted and exhaled as the blow took its' toll, and I smirked. "That's just in case you decide to try anything."

As I let her have a few more moments of agony, my superhuman hearing picked up on something. It was about a half mile away, moving at maybe three hundred miles per hour, and it was… female.

"Brick!" I yelled, turning around, but my call was drowned out by the time I had made it. The ceiling ripped apart as a hot pink light lit up the dark room. I felt chunks from the gas station ceiling rip into my lower back, and a few pieces hit my head. The electricity in the ceiling flared up, and the sparks from it hit the televisions. Everything around them lit up in flame.

I heard the familiar sound of a flying superhuman hitting another object with full force, and then the wall beside Buttercup and me was ripped open as Blossom and Brick hurtled through it and into the grassy hills that were just outside of Townsville. Moments later, I heard a loud noise as they hit the bottom of one of the mounds.

"Looks like your sister finally found out how to "Nut up or Shut up" again," I hissed, and without further hesitation, I dropped Buttercup and kicked her in the stomach.

"What are you doing?" She snarled, doubling over in pain for only a moment, and then standing up again. "You could have just kept me there!"

"It wouldn't have been a fair fight, or an interesting one," I said with a smile. "It's still not fair right now, seeing as I have the larger muscles." To prove my point, I slid back the sleeve of my army green shirt and flexed my large biceps.

An inhumane sound erupted from Buttercup's mouth and she dove forward, hitting me in the chest and knocking me onto the ground. She clenched her little hand into a fist, and with surprising force, slammed it into the right side of my face. I felt my jaw come loose from its usual place and pain wracked my head and made it throb, but a laugh came out of me instead of a cry of pain.

Buttercup did the worst thing possible when fighting me: She hesitated. I took this time to pick my head up, and reach my hands up to my face. I cracked my jaw back into place, painfully I'll add, and then I gripped my counterpart by the face and shoved her away from me.

She stumbled backward, almost tripping over her own feet, but she caught herself in time. Her black hair had blown into her face, and she sputtered in an effort to blow it out of her eyes without using her much-needed hands. Apparently she was sweating, because a few pieces clung to her forehead. I frowned. Was I sweating? No time to check.

I leaped up to my feet, using my powers, and literally flew at her. I felt the dark green energy swirl up around me and its presence made me feel more powerful.

I examined her body thoroughly in the few seconds it took me to cross the room to her. I noted that she needed her limbs to put up at least a good fight, but that she needed her eyesight and mind more. How to weaken her? I was superb at getting under peoples' skin, but my own counterpart? It should be her specialty too, right? It would be harder to get to her…

I focused on the parts of her that I could weaken, and I decided on her left arm. I could see that the muscles in this limb were stronger than that of her right one. She must be left-handed.

I flew nearly on top of her, aiming for the upper part of her body. I was also aware that one of her legs was aiming for my… sensitive area, so I couldn't go at her from below.

I picked her up by her left arm, and, using nearly all of my strength, I flung her against one of the walls again. Before she could make contact with it, she pushed herself away. She was flying now, too.

"You're gonna have to do better than that," She snarled, and she cracked her knuckles.

"Anything for you, Sunshine," I muttered, and I sped into the right side of her body. She had obviously been expecting this, because at the last possible moment, she formed her left hand into a fist and lunged upward with it, lodging it right under my chin and causing me to fly back.

I landed on my ass on the floor, and I raised my hand to my now-numb face. "Damn! For a girl, you put up a fight!" I growled, sucking up all of the moisture in my mouth and spitting on to the floor. From the corner of my eye I saw that the liquid was not clear, as it should have been, but a crimson red.

My body responded to this in a fit of fury. No one made _me _bleed!

I dove forward again after too long a pause, and aimed once again for her right side. She was expecting this again. This time, I have to admit, I used my brain. To distract her, I reached out to touch her torso, and she dodged my hand by leaning to her right with a gasp. This exposed the arm I had so wanted to weaken. I reached out, and I pulled it as far away from her body as I could. I didn't hear anything crack, but I did hear a pop. She growled and clutched it to her body. I smiled in satisfaction. I hadn't broken it, but I had pulled it out of its' socket. She would still have to spend a few seconds trying to pop it back into its' rightful place. Unfortunately for her, I wasn't going to give her a few seconds.

I took a step forward, examining her position for any weak points. She was on the floor, clutching her arm and stomach in pain. I had no doubt that I had broken a few ribs. As I approached her, she looked up, expecting me, her enemy. Her mouth opened and I saw she was gritting her teeth in pain. Her eyelashes were a visor over her eyes, but I still saw the pain, hate and determination in them. While she looked fierce, she also looked… beautiful. Where had I seen this before? Had she been in this exact same position the last time we fought?

I remembered it now… I had picked her up, cradled her to my chest, and then… HOLY SHIT.

I stopped abruptly, and I felt my mouth pop open in astonishment. The pain from my broken jaw registered in my system, but I ignored it.

All I could say was: "Damn. Oh, damn."

Buttercup stood up in a labored way. Our fighting had weakened her out-of-practice body. "What?" She growled, "Didn't do as much damage as you'd hoped?"

I just stood there like a complete idiot with my mouth wide open. Those dreams… me coming home after work to see her cooking for _me. _And our kid! Beck! He looked not just like me, but like her, too! I had kissed her, and loved her, and apparently, since my kid had been alive, we'd… done other things, too.

I shuddered. Had this been the future? Or had I been _wishing _these things? Had my dreams been my own personal little fantasy where everything I _wanted_ happened?

My mouth closed, and I realized that my face smoothed out into a serious, determined frown. This look was usually on Brick's face, because I was rarely serious. I knew now that I had to be. Buttercup was my enemy, and we could never be. No matter what the future said, or even if my subconscious mind wanted it.

So as I took a step towards her, I made myself dig into what my dreams had told me, hoping that some portion of the information was right.

"Your favorite animal is a unicorn, but you don't tell anyone because you're afraid they'll call you weak. Your favorite shade of green isn't that neon color, like everyone thinks. It's army green, because it reminds you of the military, and you really look up to them." I began to spout out, trying to remember everything. I took another step forward.

"When you were little, you wanted to be a ninja and you wanted to go to China to train. Then you wanted to be a pilot at about eleven, but after that you stopped caring. At age sixteen, you're not sure what you want to be, but you want to be able to make a difference in the world." Another step.

"You snuck into Blossom's room to read Shakespeare once as a dare, and you thought you would hate it, but you secretly loved it. You stole that book, and now you keep it in your room in a shoebox under your dresser. You read it whenever you remember it. Your favorite band is—" I tried to remember what she had been playing in my first dream "—Rage Against the Machine, favorite song The Ghost of Tom Joad." I took a few more steps, bringing us face to face. I was a little bit taller than her, but that didn't stop me from looking directly into her eyes. My black hair fell into my face because it hadn't been jelled into spikes in days. I was thankful for this, because it was hiding the blush that had begun to creep up onto my cheeks.

One last bit of information.

"You can't eat and look at yourself in the mirror afterward, or you'll puke. Your favorite class is history because you like to remember, not forget. Your favorite quote is, 'Madness is like gravity, all it takes is a little push.' And you got it from The Joker in the Batman movie, The Dark Knight, which is also your _favorite _movie," I took a deep breath, and from somewhere in the room, another TV exploded. Aside from that, everything was quiet as she stared up at me in alarm.

One more thing Butch… anything! Just remember it…

"You haven't kissed anyone yet, partially because you're afraid you'll mess up, and partially because you hate any emotion that you can't completely control." I took a deep breath. Wow. I had paid attention to those things I had thought to be useless little bits of information…

Moments passed, and I heard struggles and yells from outside as Brick and Blossom continued to fight.

Buttercup continued to stare up at me, shock written all over her face. I stared down at her in turn, waiting for her to say something. I blinked. Why was I waiting? My main point of spouting out all of that was to get inside of her head so I could take her down! What was wrong with me? Why was I—?

My brain slammed to a halt as a great force slammed down on my hard stomach, and I keeled over and backed up, trying to get away from the person that had inflicted such a pain.

Her eyes were lit up with anger again, but there was also some confused, horrified light to them. I realized that all of the things I had said had indeed, been correct.

"You really are a stalker, aren't you?" She growled, and she rushed into me again.

I narrowed my eyes, all other emotions forgotten.

I'd figure out my dreams later. All I knew now was that this battle would rage on until one of us was the last one standing.

We couldn't have anything-romantic going on between us, or even any sort of friendship.

Not now, at least…


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N**

**Oh no… not me again! :P**

**Thanks again to my reviewers, followers, and favoriteers!**

**FKS: Aww thank you! I'm thrilled that you love it :)**

**Canzie: :D**

**Meli31295: Yeah, it took him long enough, didn't it? =3 Thanks for reviewing!**

**Mew Pancake: Thanks! :)**

**Lydia: Lust is a possibility, but I was kind of saving that emotion for Brick and Blossom… I thought it'd fit them better. I dunno. We'll see. Thanks for reading! :)**

**Bubblycutie: Yeah, hah. Thanks for reviewing! ;)**

**Ppgrulz123: Yeah, it was kind of stalkerish! I mean, if you were arguing with some guy, and he started spouting off all sorts of personal stuff about you, what would you do? xD Thanks for reading!**

**Legitforreal: Thanks! I'm so happy you loved it! :)**

**Shewolfgang: Aww, that means so much to me! Thanks :) Yeah, Butchie is smart ;)**

**My Timeless Blue: Aw, Thanks for reading and supporting, I really appreciate it! :)**

**Pink Moon Witch: Yeah, but it added a little suspense, right? The "HOLY CRAP WHEN IS HE GONNA REALIZE IT'S BUTTERCUP?" part I mean. ;)**

**SunRose-01: Thanks! And thanks for reading! :)**

**Vwvanlover: They'll kiss… eventually ;) Thanks for reviewing!  
Alexandera: Aw, thank you! Shakespeare Junior? I'm honored to be called that, haha. Thank you so much for reading!**

**Wildone97: I like Butch's POV too. They're more fun to write :D Thanks you for reading! :)**

**Jenaca: Haha, I kind of made it hard to realize. I should have made it a BIT more detailed so people wouldn't jump to, "OMG THEY HUNG SOMETHING!" conclusions hah. Thanks for reading! :)**

**N3Mo: Yeah, that quote's my favorite :). Thank you for reading!**

**xSerenityIsn'tAlwaystheAnswerx: Thank you! Haha :)**

**She-Pirates kick-BUTT: Hahaha. Violence and subtle flirting rock! =3**

**JadeTyga: Thank you! (I love that word, by the way. EPIC. It sounds like… outer-spacey.) Superpowered Ninja Cows? That's a new one! Hahaha. "Nut up or Shut up" is a quote from a movie called Zombie Land. It basically means: "Do it, or stop complaining about it." Thanks so much for reading! :)**

**Invader Clo: Thank you! I'm so glad you love it! And psh… the world would be SOOO much better if at least a FEW people had superpowers ;)**

**KeroNya: Flipinastic? That's freakin' awesome! Thanks for reading! =3**

**Sey-ukftw: Unicorns. Are. Awesome. Are they not? =3. I'm so happy that you love this story! And actually… I MIGHT just do a sequel. It depends if I get enough people to say they want it.**

**=) Thanks for reading!**

**Ikuni Hattori: Thank you! :))**

**Curlyswirl: Thank you! I'm happy I got you back into the PPGS again :)**

**Glooberglag (AKA "heyy"): Thank you! And I'd love to read your story. I'll start right away. Thanks for reading! ;)**

**And thank you sooo much to: Twikadevra, muSicLuHvER, Invader Clo, VaguelyImaginary, Yasz1221, purplepunk8005, The Sentiness, Aussie the Tiger, naruhina-4evver, Kattajellie, Curlyswirl, and babyluv360.**

'**Oly crapola! Do you realize I have 36 alerts 62 freakin' faves? You guys are amazing! I love you. **

**No seriously. I really do. You inspire me :)**

**Alright, so as you've (hopefully) been hoping, this chapter is a Brick/Blossom chapter. It's gonna be from Brick's POV because I only have like, one chapter from his view point.**

**So, without further hesitation or rambling…**

**CHAPTER 19!**

**Disclaimer: I happened to watch an episode of Family Guy last night that involved Cool Whip and Pie with hair in it, but unfortunately, I do not own the Powerpuff Girls.**

Chapter 19

(Brick's POV)

I had been staring at the note… _her _note.

Almost immediately I'd realized that it wasn't her handwriting. I'd seen her thin, feminine fingers, and this rushed, sloppy hand that was written here on this sticky note did not belong to her.

Also, I assumed that her vocabulary would be of a higher level.

The note read: Keep dreaming lozer.

Especially the "lozer" part. The author of the note had misspelled the word, and so it was most definitely not Blossom.

So as I had been frowning down at the note, I heard a sharp _clunk! _Sound along with a grunt, and suddenly, there was a dead weight flying into my side.

I dropped the note, and stared down in alarm at my little brother. He had a red mark just to the left of the bridge of his nose under his eye, and his hair clung to his face.

Unaware of the circumstances, I thought he'd simply hit his head. I had bent down to seize him under his arms and yank him up onto his feet. His dark green eyes had been glazed over, and he had a goofy look on his face as his body got used to its surroundings again.

Almost as quickly and abruptly as he had fallen into me, his face changed horrifically. One moment he looked drunk, and the next, he looked outraged. I felt that strange energy coming from him that he only got when he went out of control.

The last it had happened was when someone had punched Boomer at the skate park. We'd been thirteen. Butch had already been hooked on skating then, and I'd just been accepted into a regional science fair. Unable to walk Boomer to his football practice because of this, I had left him with Butch. Our middle brother hadn't minded, and he'd said that he'd keep an eye on the youngest of our bunch.

He'd told me that as soon as he had entered the fenced-in area just off of the school, some of the usual punks had skated over to high-five him and give him crap.

This time, instead of picking on good ol' sarcastic Butch, they'd chosen sensitive little Boomer.

Boomer told me later that the thing that had really set Butch off was when they had called him, "Queerleader." He'd said that as soon as the words left the kids' mouth, Butch's face had changed from good-natured to pure fury. He'd lost control, and had tackled the kid to the ground. Unfortunately for the punk, he had tackled him straight off of one of the ramps.

As the two fell to the floor, Butch's powers had kicked in. My dark-haired brother hadn't been hurt, but the other kid had broken his leg.

We'd been careful not to make him angry ever since.

I'd kept this in mind as my brother's face changed abruptly like it had been described to do before.

Fortunately for me, Butch had been facing away from me. He had tackled the first thing that moved, which I realized at that moment was Buttercup as she dropped from the ceiling.

Understanding dawned on me. She'd written the notes as decoys, knowing that they would distract us.

Butch had begun to punch her in various places, but she blocked him successfully every time, and suddenly, her feet came up and lodged into his stomach. She had pushed him away from her, and he had landed on the ground, farther away.

I noticed by now that the distant, angry look, was gone from him and I exhaled in relief. Maybe he would be easier to talk to, or give orders to, now. Also, I was happy that he wasn't having a romance-fest with her like Boomer had with Bubbles.

He looked over at me and a plan circulated between us. I let him carry it out, and seconds later he had Buttercup crammed up against the wall.

I demanded that she tell me where everyone else was, but she wouldn't even give me eye contact. At this, I forced her chin up so that she would look me in the eye. Still, she would not give anything away.

After Butch had flirted with her for a second, I socked him in the shoulder and walked over to the door, telling me what to do with her.

I heard him punch her, and when she groaned, he muttered a threat to her, no doubt.

Suddenly, there was a pause. An unnatural pause. I turned my head to look at my little brother from out of the corner of my eye. Suddenly he tensed, and turned abruptly.

I couldn't see what he did next, though, because the ceiling exploded above me. I saw Blossom's determined, angry face just before she soared into the room and grabbed me by the front part of my shirt.

Once her hands had found purchase, she heaved us both through the air and into the wall of televisions that were right by Butch and Buttercup.

As we crashed through the wall and into the meadows that were just before Townsville, we fought each other for dominance, tossing over and over in the air.

At first it was her gripping me, then me gripping her, but then as she gripped me for the second time, we slammed painfully into one of the numerous grassy hills in the meadow.

She let go of me briefly, and I fell away from her, creating a major dent in the side of the hill. I got up and rubbed my head, noticing that she had made a dent as well, but only smaller.

She picked herself up and dusted herself off, coughing as she did so. As soon as she was ready to fight again, she looked up and eyed me with disgust.

I smirked and held out my arms, in the national "come and get me" symbol.

She narrowed her eyes and lunged at me through the air again, hitting me in my chest. She knocked me to the ground and tried to punch at my eyes, but I blocked her effortlessly as I caught her fist with my palm and pushed her away.

She landed on her butt in the kicked up dirt a couple of feet away from me.

"Come on, girlie!" I encouraged sarcastically, "You're going to have to a little bit better than that."

She got up and dusted herself off again, eying me coldly as I lay on the floor in front of her, held up only by my forearms as they rested on the ground on both sides of me.

She scanned me up and down for weaknesses, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"No time for flirtatious behavior," I muttered when she gave me another dirty look, and I heaved myself to my feet in less than a second and lunged at her.

She recoiled a bit too early, and lost her footing and fell to the earth again.

"Predictable!" I scolded, as if I were an English teacher, "Do you honestly think I would try that?"

She was on her feet in a flash, and this time, she aimed for my chest. I dodged left, but she had faked the blow and instead kicked my feet out from under me.

I fell onto my back, and she squatted down in front of me and began to place blow after blow on my chest, which was now beginning to get sore.

After seeing that this wasn't causing me as much pain as she had probably hoped, she readjusted her aim and began to punch the hell out of my nose.

I grunted the first time she hit me, groaned the second time, but stopped her punch the third time by reaching up and grabbing hold of both of her fists again.

She tried to push them down upon me, but I fought for control and locked my elbows in place, trying to shove her up again. She stopped struggling for a few moments, but then, abruptly, she pushed down again.

I hadn't been expecting this, and so her fists plummeted down on my shoulders. My hands were useless at this moment, as she had them pinned against me.

She was leaning really close, and she was panting. She gritted her teeth, trying to decide what would hurt most, I was guessing.

I had begun to blush moments before her, remembering my brothers' taunts about my feelings, and also realizing how close together our faces were. I was the fearless leader. I wasn't supposed to feel anything apparently, as I was supposed to keep the control the most out of our group.

Noticing my red cheeks, her own face lit up an adorable crimson, and she rocked back onto her heels, still keeping me pinned to the floor, but giving up her dominant position.

She crossed her arms and looked away from me, trying to decide whether to tell me something or not.

I stared her down for a few seconds, taking in the few patches of dirt and grass-stain on her clothes and skin. Her hair was loose and blowing in the wind, although it was dirty because she hadn't showered in a few days and we were rolling around in the grime. Nonetheless, she still looked great.

She turned back to me again, meeting my eyes steadily.

"Boomer and Bubbles—" She began, but I silenced her.

"Yeah," I said, "I know. And I don't approve."

She frowned. "Neither do I." Odd. We actually agreed on something for once. I realized that we agreed on a lot of things, and cared about some of the same topics. For one we cared about our siblings and didn't want them hurt. Secondly we stuck to our purposes, and also, it seemed that we both took the blame for letting our youngest siblings fall for each other.

"It's not supposed to work like this," She muttered, looking down at her crossed arms.

I didn't answer. I just let her continue.

"We're supposed to hate each other like we did when we were little. I was anticipating your return, and I was planning to take you down on sight. I wasn't planning this little… little—"

"Misdirection?" I offered.

She shook her head. "Distraction."

It was my turn to frown. "What do you mean by 'distraction'?"

She shrugged. "I never realized that counterparts could…" She trailed off, still not looking at me. I raised an eyebrow, and I sat up as much as our current position would allow me.

"That counterparts could what?" I prompted, although I had a fairly good prediction, based on what we'd already seen of Boomer and Bubbles.

"You know," She sighed, "Like each other. Like that."

I smirked. "Anything's possible I guess. Boomer and Bubbles—"

"I wasn't _speaking _about Boomer and Bubbles."

My eyes widened, but my mouth stayed closed. What the hell was she talking about? Sure she was beautiful… and smart, kind, and funny in her own special way, everything I wanted in a girl, but we had been sworn enemies since my birth! I had a mission…

But it seemed as if my mission were forgotten as I leaned forward, and she reciprocated. Our lips touched and fire coursed through my veins, making me want more and more. She leaned back so I could sit forward.

As she did so, she arched her back so I could press my body to hers, and she wrapped her fingers in the long hair at the top of my head, making my cap slip off of.

She pressed her lips harder into mine, and it made it hard to think… to even breath! It felt so right… so natural… but then it stopped. _I stopped._

I realized that she was my enemy again, and that I still had a mission. A mission I had sworn to carry out, and so had my brothers. I couldn't let them down, no matter what _I _wanted.

I leaned away, falling down onto my back again. At the abrupt halt in contact, she opened her eyes and looked down at me.

We stared at each other for a few seconds, and then I sat up again, and placed a long, empty kiss on her forehead. She just sat there, and stared into my neck. I gently pushed her away from me, and stood up.

"I can't," Was all I said, and with that, I turned back to the burning gas station to fetch my brother. We had to go through with what we had been sent to do, and I would make sure we did, even if it killed me, whether it would be emotionally or physically.

**A/N**

**Okay… just real quick…**

**IF you review this chapter… I wanna know…**

**What would YOU do if:**

**You were arguing with some hot guy, and all of a sudden, he started spouting out all sorts of random, personal secrets about you?**

**I wrote a sequel to this story (possibly) involving the kids of the PPGs and/or RRBs? (IF they have kids together…)**

**Please let me know!**

**Love you sooo much!**

**~Mars**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N**

**Heeey ooooh. Listen what I saaaay ooooh!**

**Thanks so much for replying to my little readers' question(s) thing! Your answers made me smile! :))))**

**And also… thanks for the reviews, followings, and favorites!**

**xSerenityIsn'tAlwaystheAnswerx: I love the social networking site part, that's pretty awesome. And classy. Haha. Thanks for reading! I'm glad you loved it! :)**

**Invader Clo: AWESOME! Thank you! :P "For the time being" haha. That made me laugh. I would update 2 or 3, but it would take me an entire week to write all of it! ): Thanks for reading, though! :)**

**Ikuni Hattori: Yup, most people can't talk with a mouth full of blood xD You made me laugh. Also, I'm so freakin' happy that you'd read my sequel if I wrote one! I'll totally keep that in mind! :) Thanks a ton for reading!**

**Bubblycutie: Yeah, I think we'd all kiss a hot guy back. Hahaha. Thank you for reading! :)**

**JadeTyga: I totally understand the "I would do nothing" aspect! I mean, I guess it would depend on what he said ;) Hmm… I THINK it's almost over. I can't give a good estimate on the number of chapters left, but it's definitely more than half way done. Thanks for the feedback on the sequel also, and I'll keep that in mind! I think I would try to also make it a bit funnier, and MAYBE I'd add a bit of romance in on it… but it'd be more with OCs because it would be the kids, and not the main characters themselves… Thanks for reviewing! :)**

**Meli31295: Thank you! :) I'm happy about that ;)**

**Meyrin-x-ZAFTgirl: Ahahahahaha, a rubber chicken? That's pretty classic! ;) So glad you like the B/B development! Thanks for reading! :)**

**Mew Pancake: Hahaha, I totally understand the "Yell creeper?" thing. I think most would do similarly. So happy you think this is awesome! And thanks for reading! :)**

**Pikalover10: Love the a, b, c options to the question, and all of them are great! Thanks for reading! :) **

**Pink Moon Witch: I'm so happy that you love the story! Thanks for reading! :)**

**Alexandera: Awww thank you, you make me FEEL awesome ;) And thanks for the feedback for both questions! I will definitely think about writing that sequel now. Thanks for reading! :)**

**Ppgrulz123: REALLY? That's cool! I guess I didn't think that PPG could have a birthday… but that's still really cool! Hahaha. Love your answer to the question, and thanks for reviewing! :D**

**My Timeless Blue: I PROMISE to finish this story, seriously and honestly ;) I'm so happy that you love this, and… aww! You make me feel like a role model… and that's rare! :) Thanks for reading/reviewing!**

**Shewolfgang: Hahaha, your answer made me crack up :D. Thanks for reading!**

**Sey-ukftw: Dude, I freakin' love Chuck Norris jokes, so that made me laugh ;D I'll totally keep your feedback in mind! I think I actually WILL write a sequel! Thanks for reading!**

**Glooberglag: Love your answer! Totally makes sense, dude! That WOULD be a little creepy. So glad you love it!**

**Wildone97: Hahaha your answer made me smile :) Thanks for reading!**

**Curlyswirl: To your Answer #1: I totally agree! And to Answer #2: I will keep your feedback in mind, and I'm really thinking of making a sequel now! Thanks for reading! :D**

**Naruhina-4evver: I think I'd freak out too =O. Thanks for reading!**

**Fallenheather: Your answer to the question is so rational! Hahaha, It'd be a BIT creepy, huh? I think I'd give Beck a larger part in the sequel, which I'm really thinking about writing. He'd probably be one of the major characters, SOOO I think he'd deserve a bit of a love life… not too sure how I'd incorporate that in, though. Sorry for rambling, and thanks for reading! :)**

**SunRose-01: So glad you adore this story! Thanks for reading! :)**

**Onlyanopinion: 'Tis true. I think If Buttercup weren't so close-minded, she would do most of that. But… she is. I think that's why we love her ;) Thanks for reviewing!**

**Soccertista219: Thanks! I think I really will write a sequel! Thanks for reading!**

**She-Pirates kick-BUTT: HAHAHAHAHAH the answer made me laugh, it's awesome. Thanks for reading! :)**

**Canzie: Haha, I'd probably do the same. And thank you! Thanks for reading, too!**

**Animeskullgirl16: Great! Yeah, that'd probably be the most rational thing to be thinking if some guy knew all sorts of crap about you. Thanks for reading! :)**

**And thanks to: TheAlmightyHachu, glooberglag, nenelitha123, naruhina-4evver, and ppgrulz123, for favoriting and following!**

**Soooo… this chapter will be from Buttercup's point of view. This will be the third part I've repeated some dialogue out of only one scene, and so it will be the final time, sorry to those of you who might have wanted to hear Blossom's take on this scene! :(**

**Also, as you might have noticed (if you're as nerdy as me and you read the chapter word count when you get the little alert email thingies for stories) this chapter is my longest so far, being around 5,000 words. Most of it is restating, but… either way, I had to write. I just hope that you like it! Some have been badgering about a longer chapter.**

**Here's Chapter 20! (HOLY CRUD. CHAPTER **_**20?**_**)**

**Disclaimer: I believe in Nessie, but unfortunately, that doesn't mean that I own the Powerpuff Girls…**

Chapter 20

(Buttercup's POV)

I stared him down through wide, light green eyes, my blood seeming to rush UP my body and all into my face. I didn't blush easily, but I must have been bright red. Had he HONESTLY freakin' just SAID all of that?

I had been planning to beat the shit out of him, or die trying.

I had formulated the plan when I had volunteered to sit in the back of Butch's jeep to keep watch.

I'd waited for Blossom to get into the vehicle before pretending to climb into the back and shutting the door with a believable slam. After that, I'd sprinted back into the gas station to finish up what I wanted to do.

First off, I had to find a decoy.

Knowing boys and the fact that all of them liked to be flirted with somehow, I figured I'd do something of that sort.

I could distract Butch somehow… even though it would kill me. Blossom wasn't here, and even if she were, she wouldn't go for it with Brick. (**A/N Little does she know! :P)**

So I decided on notes. The paper wasn't hard to find, the trouble was getting to it without making any noise.

My instinct told me to look for some sort of office or bulletin board.

I found the employee of the month/reminders board right next to one of the few doors that were in the back of the store, where the room I had been kept in was located.

It must have not been used in a while. All of the little notes, pictures, and other things were still neatly tacked to the thick board that had been hung on the wall. The only thing that made it obvious that the boys were living here was that the small whiteboard that was hung for short notices had been erased, and was crowded with stupid, crude little drawings, _ was here's and other small graffiti. So it was lucky for me that they hadn't touched the things that had been placed there before, because tacked to the right side of the board was a pack of sticky notes.

Without making a noise, I plucked the tack out of its' hole and peeled off a couple of the notes, and then I put it back.

While sneaking back across the small corridor, I heard Brick's snores, and Butch's mumbling. This made sense. Blossom snored herself, and sadly, I mumbled when I slept as well.

The thing that made my heart freeze as I walked by the door that hid Butch's sleepy form, was when he said something…

"Y'okay Buttercah?" He sighed, and, using my superb hearing, I heard him turn over to lie on his stomach, and heard the muscles surrounding his mouth tense, making his relaxed frown smooth into a smile.

My eyes widened, and my head snapped around so I could see the door straight on. Unfortunately, my body had not stopped moving. I was sent reeling back to the current task at hand as I slammed into a shelf and a few of the objects toppled to the ground.

"Damn!" I cussed. I froze suddenly, and listened intently. Butch had continued to mumble, but Brick's snoring had increased in volume… a volume that was a little unbelievable. I had to hurry.

I snuck back into the room I had been kept in silently, and closed the door. I realized with a growl that I had nothing to write on the notes with, and I nearly smacked myself in the forehead.

Hoping and praying that having the same skinny jeans on for the past few days would be beneficial to me, my freehand snaked into the right pocket of my jeans, and I dug around desperately. All I found was the cloth of the inside of the pocket.

Nothing, I realized sadly.

I pulled my hand out of that pocket and switched to the other one. As soon as my hand was securely inside, it fastened around a couple of objects. I pulled them out to survey them, realizing that they were long, solid, and rounded. In the dim light of the room, I could make out that they were cosmetics. One was my beloved black eyeliner, the other was red lipstick. My lip curled up in disgust. I hated putting things on my lips because they made me feel like I couldn't talk as much. I had no idea why this was in here, but at the time I was thankful that it was. It was a typical thing that Blossom might carry around.

I wrote my note first hurriedly in eyeliner, making sure to find the right word to write on the front, instead of his name.

I wrote Blossom's next in the red lipstick, trying to use my nicest handwriting. I chose to write something appropriate that would relate to the thoughts that might be circulating through this boy's mind when he picked up the note. Finally happy with my result, I put the notes down on our respectable chairs, and took my position.

About ten minutes later, my limbs were extremely weakened as I clung to the white, cement rafters of the gas station's ceiling. I felt like my arms and legs were burning as I just sat there.

Thankfully, the doors flung open only seconds later, and my counterpart stormed into the room, and Brick came into view a few seconds later, only he leaned against the doorframe instead, looking extremely angry himself.

Butch's pitch-black hair stuck up in random places, like he had just been woken up, but his face and eyes were not dreary from sleep. I had not expected them to be.

He stomped around to face the front row of chairs, and he stared at the two notes I had placed on two of the cushion for a few heartbeats.

Finally, he snatched up Blossom's note between his index and middle finger, and held it up to show Brick.

"Did you see this?" He demanded. Brick nodded and walked over in the same icy-calm manner Blossom would have demonstrated.

He nodded? I wondered how he knew… but I'd find that out later.

"I was waiting until you saw them too to read them." Brick said.

"Them?" Butch responded, and his head turned to my chair. I guess he hadn't seen my note. As he picked it up, I saw him jerk as if he were stifling a laugh or comment of some sort.

I saw his eyes skim over it, and then a look of confusion crossed his features. He read it again. And once more.

Finally getting the concept, his face tilted upwards, toward my exact position.

I smiled menacingly, and released my feet from the ceiling, letting them come down upon his face with a hard force.

Butch staggered back, and landed on Brick, who had been reading Blossom's forged note.

I jumped back to the floor just as Brick picked Butch back up and put him back on his feet. By now the affects of a kick in the face had worn off, and pure rage had enveloped him.

He lunged at me, and pressed me down onto the ground, throwing punch after punch at me. So enclosed in his own rage, he was actually kind of slow. Had he actually hit me, it would have hurt like HELL. I dodged his every punch, thankfully.

I finally got the time window in which to lodge him off of me with my feet, and he was pushed away from me and onto the ground. Now he had caught up to his bodily functions again as his morals and mind came back to him. He looked over at Brick, and before I could even get to my feet, he was on me.

He snatched me up by the front of my shirt, and with blinding speed, sprinted to the nearest wall of TVs, and pressed me up against it. My head and feet went back on instinct, and the TVs behind those certain body parts shattered. Shards of glass scraped against my scalp and face and poked my shins where they were exposed. I let out a startled, painful gasp.

He pressed down on me even harder, and the televisions behind my back started to sizzle and crack. Suddenly Brick was behind him. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction, and so I looked down at the ground rebelliously. As Butch held me there, Brick's hand darted forward, and he made me look up at him.

"Where are they?" He demanded.

I smiled slightly with a taste of a sneer, and my eyes narrowed, but a small grunt of pain escaped my lips. A few shards of glass were being pushed into my back.

My counterpart pulled me forward, and slammed me into the glass of the televisions again. I growled in pain, and screwed my eyes shut, trying to cope. I was usually good with pain.

"She really is your counterpart," I heard Brick sigh. "Stupid, compulsive, and stubborn."

"Hey, watch it," Butch snapped. Suddenly, he turned toward me. "What were you thinking anyway?" he asked, curious. "There are two of us, we're at least four inches taller than you and forty pounds heavier—with muscles—and there's only one of you."

I leaned forward, hoping to add more venom in my voice. "'Cause I'm more mature than both of you put together."

"Mature as in, 'I've watched more adult films.' Or mature as in ''Cause I'm the mother, that's why?'"

I spat at him and leaned back, snarling, "Screw you!"

He wiggled his eyebrows. "Are you volunteering?" Brick socked him in the shoulder, and he snarled an, "OW!"

"Stop flirting, man, let's get down to business. One captive's better than no captives," Brick said.

Butch glared at him, but then he turned his head so he couldn't look either of us in the eye. "I'm not flirting…"

I laughed beside myself. This guy was a joke!

"Whatever. Get her down from there, we'll put her in the car, and take her back to the retirement home. We'll let the old geezers take care of her, and then we'll come back for Boomer," Brick said, beginning to walk towards the door.

Butch turned towards me, and after a brief hesitation, he smashed his fist into my stomach with a great force. I grunted in pain, watching as stars filled my vision.

"That's just in case you try anything," He said, leaning in to mutter into my ear.

I inhaled and exhaled, trying to locate, soothe, and push away the pain in my system. After a few moments of this, Butch tensed. I looked up half-heartedly, and realized that his head had snapped around to look behind him. I lifted my eyes to see if anyone else had come, but no one else was here.

"Brick!" Butch shouted, but it was lost in the loud noise that now filled the air.

The ceiling ripped apart as a hot pink light lit up the dark room. Chunks from the gas station ceiling ripped into Butch's lower back, and a few pieces hit his head. The electricity in the ceiling flared up, and the sparks from it hit the televisions. Everything around them lit up in flame.

I heard the familiar sound of a flying superhuman hitting another object with full force, and then the wall beside Butch and me was ripped open as Blossom and Brick hurtled through it and into the grassy hills that were just outside of Townsville. Moments later, I heard a loud noise as they hit the bottom of one of the mounds.

I felt guilty, and rebellious. I should have thought this through more, yes, but I just wished Blossom hadn't have decided to come to the rescue! I could've handled this! Somehow…

"Looks like your sister finally learned how to "Nut up or Shut up" again," Butch hissed at me, and then he let me drop from my place smashed up against the televisions, and onto the floor. He then proceeded to kick me in my stomach—hard.

"What are you doing?" I snarled as I doubled over in pain. "You could have just kept me there!" I made a reference to the wall. It would have certainly made his job of beating the shit out of me easier.

"It wouldn't have been a fair fight, or an interesting one," He said with a cute smile. "It's still not fair right now, seeing as I have the larger muscles." To prove his point, he slid back the sleeve of his army green shirt and flexed his… large biceps.

A snarl erupted from my throat and I dove forward, hitting him right in the chest and knocking him to the ground. I clenched my fingers together into a tight fist, and sent it into Butch's face in a vicious uppercut.

I saw his jaw come loose, and instead of the cry of pain I had expected him to utter, he laughed. I stared at him for a few moments, but that was my mistake. In no time at all, he had straightened his jaw out and gripped me by the face. He then shoved me away.

I stumbled backward and almost tripped over my own feet, but I caught myself in time and was able to stand up straight. A few pieces of hair clung to my sweaty face.

He leaped up to his feet and literally flew at me, using his powers directly in front of me for the first time in years.

My leg kicked up instinctively, as I aimed for the lower part of his body. He came at me from above, seeing my intentions. He picked me up by my left arm and flung me away. It hurt, but I was able to catch myself and use my powers to levitate before I hit the wall again.

"You're gonna have to do better than that," I snarled, and cracked my knuckles—a habit of mine.

"Anything for you, Sunshine," He muttered, making me even more enraged. I hated that nickname. He sped into the right side of my body, and I curled my fingers into a fist again and lunged upward, hitting my target: Right under his chin.

He flew back, and landed on his butt. "Damn! For a girl, you put up a fight!" He growled, spitting up blood and saliva on the floor.

He looked furious all of a sudden as he realized that his spit wasn't clear, as it should have been. After too long of a pause he sped towards me again, aiming for my right side. Wow. I had already predicted this. As he neared me, he suddenly reached out, trying to touch my torso. I cringed, and I dodged away from him. Unfortunately, this exposed my left arm.

He grabbed my left arm and wrenched it away from me, popping it out of its' socket. I growled and clutched it to my body as the pain erupted down the entire limb.

I clutched at my arm and stomach in pain, and looked up at him through my dark lashes. I realized he was coming closer again, so I gritted my teeth in pain, expecting him. Hate and determination coursed through me.

Suddenly, he just… stopped. He stopped glaring at me, the light of battle left his now-wide eyes, and he stood abruptly still with his mouth hanging open, like he had just realized something.

I stood up slowly, trying not to topple over again. This was probably an act, I knew.

"What?" I panted, "Didn't do as much damage as you'd hoped?"

He stood there with that same expression for about a minute, and different emotions glazed his eyes over. I couldn't read any of them.

He shuddered, and then his mouth closed. He took a step forward, and started to do something I would have never predicted him to do.

"Your favorite animal is a unicorn, but you don't tell anyone because you're afraid they'll call you weak. Your favorite shade of green isn't that neon color, like everyone thinks. It's army green, because it reminds you of the military, and you really look up to them." he began to spout out. He took a step toward me, and my reaction was to step back, pain forgotten. What the—?

"When you were little, you wanted to be a ninja and you wanted to go to China to train. Then you wanted to be a pilot at about eleven, but after that you stopped caring. At age sixteen, you're not sure what you want to be, but you want to be able to make a difference in the world." He said, and took another step forward, while I took another step back. Where was he getting this? This couldn't have possibly been in my file! Some of this stuff I hadn't even told my sisters, how could anyone know? I kept this to myself! He was a villain, so he couldn't possibly have these same secrets and goals, even though he was my counterpart!

"You snuck into Blossom's room to read Shakespeare once as a dare, and you thought you would hate it, but you secretly loved it. You stole that book, and now you keep it in your room in a shoebox under your dresser. You read it whenever you remember it. Your favorite band is—" he paused "—Rage Against the Machine, favorite song The Ghost of Tom Joad." He took yet ANOTHER step, and a blush tinted his cheeks slightly. This time, I stood frozen to the spot. WHAT THE HELL?

"You can't eat and look at yourself in the mirror afterward, or you'll puke. Your favorite class is history because you like to remember, not forget. Your favorite quote is, 'Madness is like gravity, all it takes is a little push.' And you got it from The Joker in the Batman movie, The Dark Knight, which is also your _favorite _movie," He took a deep breath, and from somewhere in the room, another TV exploded. Not only was I alarmed, I was also creeped out, and maybe even a little… flattered.

He paused again, and I expected him to just come forward and kick me in the face or something, so I would fall down, passed out, and he could take me to his stupid elders or whatever.

Instead, he said one of the most secret pieces of information that I kept only to myself. I had never told anyone.

"You haven't kissed anyone yet, partially because you're afraid you'll mess up, and partially because you hate any emotion that you can't completely control." He murmured, and then he heaved a deep breath.

Moments passed, and I heard struggles and yells from outside as Brick and Blossom continued to fight.

I could only stare at him, and he could only stare back at me, a reserved and calm feeling on his handsome face. Why wasn't he attacking me? I had seen that thoughtful look in his eyes as he assessed me for weaknesses, and I had already guessed that he was going to try and get at my mind.

Well, he had.

So… why wasn't he doing anything?

I kind of wanted to do something… romantic I guess you could say? But that would be cheesy, flirty, and something Blossom would do… so I didn't.

I decided to act before he did.

I lunged forward and slammed my fist into his hard stomach, almost cringing as my fist went numb. Nonetheless, it did at least a little damage on him.

My eyes lit up with anger, as I realized that Bubbles must have heard me muttering, told Boomer, and then Boomer had told Butch. It was a good assumption, and probably fairly accurate.

"You really are a stalker, aren't you?" I snarled.

He narrowed his eyes as he looked up at me, and the thoughtful look that had once inhabited his face disappeared. All hopes of a romantic moment were lost for now.

He stood up and shoved me back against the wall of TVs. My back hit them with such a force that everything behind me exploded. I was thankful for my superhuman powers as I darted away before the fire could touch me.

We stood there, staring at each other for a few moments more, trying to figure out who should move first, but suddenly, we both stopped at the same time to listen.

There were no longer any shouts from outside. Had Blossom and Brick moved away from the spot they had been in? No… I felt Blossom's presence nearby, and from Butch's similar reaction, he probably felt Brick's presence, too.

I listened carefully over the roar of the fire around us and the surging of the broken TVs to try and see what was going on. I frowned, and a grimace lit up my face as I heard the distinct sound of passionate kissing, and from across the room, Butch turned and threw a nasty punch into a nearby television.

Still turned away from me, he began to snarl, "So that's it then? Bubbles and Boomer, and now Brick and Blossom! Have they forgotten what it's like to have an enemy? Are the happy couples just gonna float off into the sunset?"

"No," I growled, unable to believe that my sister would go against everything she believed in to be with a Rowdyruff Boy, "We're still enemies. Me and you and least, and we always will be."

He turned his head towards me a little, and he glanced at me out of the corner of his dark green eyes. He looked thoughtful, unsure, guilty, but still rebellious. Almost… sexy, I had to admit. He raked a hand through his unruly black hair and turned away from me again, stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, and I was happy to do so as he glared at everything in the room except for me, and I made dirty looks at the back of his head.

In these moments of silence, I had time to think.

HOW had he learned that information? Some of it was so personal… had I ever said that quote in my sleep? I hadn't even DREAMED of Batman! Except for once… when I had imagined myself as Batgirl when I was eleven years old. But I hadn't paid enough attention to the quote back then!

This information had to have been learned for a primary source, and the only primary source was… me.

I hadn't told him ANYTHING as a child, nor had I told him anything in this short time that we had been reintroduced. So how had he known?

My curiosity got the better of me.

"How did you know all of that stuff about me?" I asked, feeling suddenly a bit restricted, and weak. Some of these statements were really personal, and I didn't like that he knew them.

He shrugged, still not looking at me.

I narrowed my eyes, and I stalked forward. Placing my hand on one of his broad shoulders, I forced him to turn and look at me. He did so grudgingly, going on his own accord because I couldn't push around his weight.

"How did you know?" I demanded again. He narrowed his eyes.

"I just do, alright?" He snarled, and a haunted look passed over his face.

I clenched my fists and stood on my tiptoes, so I could look a bit more menacing. Apparently it wasn't working, because his lips pressed together in an amused smirk.

"Let's try this again," I hissed, "How do you _know _these things?"

He took a breath to say something, but suddenly a gush of wind swirled around the flaming room, causing him to stop and look over my shoulder, and me to turn around.

Brick stood in the gaping hole that he and Blossom had created. His hair was all messed up, and his red eyes were wild.

"We need to go. NOW," He snarled, pointing up at the lightening sky.

Butch smirked, almost relieved and looked over at me.

"Bye, Sunshine," He chuckled, and with inhumane speed, he was by Brick's side.

"NO, you're not going!" I yelled, "I want an answer!"

He laughed, like I had just said something funny, and then, in a flash of dark green, he was gone.

I was left standing there, staring after him, dumbstruck.

I would find out how he had figured me out… sooner or later.

**A/N**

**ALRIGHT! ANOTHER READERS PROMPT! (Sorry if it's annoying)**

**So… based on the results I got last time about the sequel stuff…**

**IF I were to do a sequel, what would you like to see in it? Besides Beck and the others kids I mean. I'd love the feedback! **

**Thanks!**

**I love you guys to BITS! (Creepy right?)**

**~Mars**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N**

**Hai Tharr…**

**So I bet you're a bit distraught because I haven't updated in over a week? I'm soooo sorry for that. Science Fair caught up with me, and I had to write these really freaking detailed (and completely stupid) technical papers. Ugh. **

**But, I'm back. Science Fair's almost over, but I have finals coming up in a couple of weeks, so I might only be able to update like once or twice a week til December 17****th****. I don't wanna have to cram all of that crap in the night before =/**

**So, anyway, enough with my boring problems. I'll bet you want to read the next chapter?**

**This one is from Boomers' POV. Uh huh. That means we're finally going to Bubbles and Boomers' situation, because It's so different from the others four's.**

**Okee dokee.**

**I hope ya like.**

**BUT FIRST I'd Like to say THANK YOU to all of my reviewers. I had like, 29 in all, which is the best a single chapter has even gotten. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO: Brother Bandit, Bubblycutie, ppgrulz123, naruhina-4evver, AlixanderMasen, Dokki Dokki Chu, meli31295, Meyrin-x-ZAFTgirl, Ikuni Hattori, Invader Clo, Pink Moon Witch, vwvanlover, the-writing-vampire, demyx-axelfan, canzie, glooberglag, SoEpic, oOJonahOo, sey-ukftw, Curlyswirl, Soccertista219, xSerenityIsn'tAlwaystheAnswerx, TheAlmightyHachu, Mew Pancake, shewolfgang, She-Pirates Kick-BUTT, KeroNya, Wildone97, Rachel, KayTeexKorpse, Alexandera, CowGoesQuack, ButtercupRocks, fergie3, TotallyPowerPuff, SKayeB, N3Mo, Artee, Candycane418, BubblesHere1, princethekid, animeskullgirl16, .Parades, JadeTyga, AnimexLuver4Ever, Sana96, brightshadow4494, xXboom-lay-boomXx, DarkPurpleVampireGirl, xxxBabbii, and Myisha99. I love you guys! Thank you so much for your support, suggestions, ideas, and feedback! I just named 51 people O.o Wow. I feel so awesome. **

**I'm not going to respond to reviews in this chapter (I'M SORRY!) because then I wouldn't be able to write the chapter quickly enough, as I always reply to your comments before I write, to keep suggestions fresh in my mind. So, no responses right now, BUT THANKS SOOOOOO MUCH! And please continue to review! If you review next time, I will most definitely be able to reply!**

**I'm so glad you guys missed me, to the ones that wondered when I was putting up a new chappie.**

**And thanks to a certain one who wrote me an awesome poem. :) Cough, cough, you know who you are!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the PPGS.**

Chapter 21

(Boomer's POV)

I watched with Bubbles as Blossom lifted off of the ground and took off into the sky, off to fight my brothers.

It was better than Buttercup fighting by herself. At least the odds were closer to even this time, although I knew that it would be an extremely close fight and the girls had only a slim chance of winning it. I planned to free the Professor, and go directly to the authorities with an explanation and a winning smile to a small misunderstand by three different superhuman beings from a different planet, or something like that.

I was interrupted in my scheming as something reached out and grasped my right arm. I looked down in alarm, forgetting for a moment that I had a pretty girl standing next to me.

She looked up at me with wide blue eyes. "What are we going to do?" She asked.

"_I _am going to handle the dirty work, and _you _are going to sit in the car. Just in case I have to use my powers to break your dad out of that shit—I mean poop—hole," I replied boldly.

To this, she just smiled and shook her head. "I'm going with you," She said, "Regardless of my broken ribs."

I frowned and my shoulders slumped slightly as I remember that I had done that. I had caused her that pain.

She poked me in my hard stomach and gave me a light hug. "It's okay," She sighed, "You had to for the safety of my sisters and I. It's just me. My body hasn't taken a hit like that in years."

I groaned. "But I could have staged it! I could have told you exactly what I was supposed to do and we could have pretended!"

She laughed and my face lit up, because I loved that beautiful smile. "I'm a horrible actress," She said, "And something tells me that you're not so good at it yourself."

She was right. I'd tried out for a popular drama show as an extra with a couple of lines because my looks perfectly fit the part, but I'd screwed up with my lines. They were either too well pronounced, too slurred together, or just too fake. Sometimes a little too loud and obnoxious.

She took my silence as a yes, which was true, and she moved away from me, stretching her arms tentatively above her head.

"I can do it," She said, "Just let me at 'em."

I formulated a plan in my head, because if a Powerpuff Girl was actually spotted breaking a criminal out of prison, there would be no way at all that I could go to the police with some fake story that the Girls had nothing to do with it if Bubbles had been noticed.

I cleared my throat abruptly and turned to walk to the back of Butch's jeep. I proceded to push down the button on the handle that would make the door to the trunk swing open, and I opened up the other glass half of the door as well. I dug through the junk that he kept back there, thanking God that he was so unorganized.

I found a black sweatshirt with a green Monster Energy Drink symbol on it to cover up her blue tank top, some navy green cargo pants to cover up her shorts, and a green beanie.

"This should work," I said, turning to come face to face with her.

"Should work for what?" She asked. I folded the clothes neatly and offered them to her. She took them cautiously, and inspected them with a somber expression. "What're these?"

"Put them on," I murmured gently, "So no one knows who you are."

"Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?" She teased lightly.

I smiled. "Hardly." She blushed a deep crimson, and I chuckled.

I turned to give her some privacy, although she wasn't taking off her shirt or pants or anything and was just slipping Butch's clothes over hers. The rustling of clothes stopped, and I turned around again.

She was wearing it all, and it was very baggy on her, but it looked good nonetheless. She had the beanie stylishly on her head, her ponytails protruding from her head just below the hat.

I smiled again. She could make anything stylish. She crossed her arms and gave me a cutesy look.

"What?"

"The point is to make you look like a boy."

She gave herself the onceover and looked up at me again. "You're saying I don't?"

Regardless of the bagginess of the sweatshirt, I could still see her curves.

"We're gonna have to do something with your hair," I decided. She eyed me nervously until I came up with a solution.

I reached forward and gently took the beanie off of her head. "Can you tie your hair up in a really high bun?"

She regarded me thoughtfully for a moment, and then she complied, undoing her blonde ponytails and tying her hair up near the top of her head. She looked like a ballerina.

I smiled yet again. "Perfect," I said, and I slipped the beanie back on. I wanted to step back to admire the work, but I realized how close we were. I leaned forward, and our lips met again. That same fiery passion coursed through me and I sighed in contentment and stepped back.

"What? What'd I do?" Bubbles gasped, mistaking my happy sigh for a sad one.

"Nothing. It just might have looked like I was kissing a boy from a distance," I laughed.

She blushed. "Oh…" I could tell that she couldn't wait to get out of those clothes.

With that done, it took me only a few minutes to run across the street to a deserted general store to find a newspaper. I returned to the parking lot so I could read it with Bubbles and get her perception on different things.

It took us only seconds to skim through the sections to find a small picture of Professor Utonium behind bars. It explained the circumstances, the prison he was being kept at, the date he had been arrested, and his trial's date.

It hadn't occurred to me that Bubbles was crying until I heard her sob, and a droplet of water hit the paper, directly on the Professor's face, which smeared the ink a little bit.

"Oh," I murmured, and I dropped the paper. We had the information that we needed now. I turned to her and took her in my arms, and she sobbed again my chest. I rested my chin on her head lightly and rubbed gentle circles on her back with my hand. I kissed her forehead.

She looked up at me through red-rimmed eyes. "We'll get him out," I whispered.

"Promise?" She responded, sniffling and wiping at her runny nose.

"Promise," I confirmed.

The sides of her mouth turned up in a smile, and I took her hand in mine. From there, we walked to the only jail in Townsville: Townsville Prison, obviously. The Mayor wasn't too original. For example, the only pickle stand in Townsville was: The Townsville Pickle Stand.

I smirked and looked over at Bubbles as we neared the boring, yet frightening looking, stone building. It was box-like, and there were few windows, which were barred heavily with titanium.

I turned to her. "Let's try this the polite way first, and then we'll go about illegal means," I whispered.

She nodded, and then she followed me as I pushed open the heavy door.

A sterile, yet gloomy looking room greeted us as we walked through a tiny little hallway. The walls were white, and the floor was plain white tile. There were windows, and this would cast a semi-cheerful natural light into the room, except for the fact that each window was barred with severe looking bits of titanium and iron.

There were about six chairs that were scattered about the room, a simple wooden coffee table with a few magazines, and a coke machine. To our right there were three cubicle-looking things that were right in front of a plexi-glass section of wall. Three phones were on the little wooden tables that stood in front of the walls and were in between the cubicles. The same type of chairs that were scattered through out the room were lined up to these cubicles.

I looked forwards and saw the black-haired receptionist at her desk, and she was talking angrily on the phone. She wore her hair up in a ponytail, and I noticed that she was wearing a woman's police uniform. I took a deep breath.

Plan A) Use charm to get the professor out. Plan B) Use force to get the professor out. Well, here went nothing.

I cleared my throat and looked over toward Bubbles. "Okay, as of now, your name is Brandon, kay? And I'm Bradley. We're twins."

She gave me a weird look, but shrugged. I didn't move. With a sigh she asked, "Are you gonna flirt with her? Cuz I don't think I should, since I'm a girl… I don't even think I CAN—"

I laughed softly, and cut her off. "I was kind of planning to. You don't mind right?"

She leaned forward with a soft smile, and I realized that she had wanted to kiss me so I could be sure this was all right with her. Apparently, she had just realized that she looked like a boy right now, and that might be a bit awkward.

So she stepped away, and gave me a tentative smile. "Go ahead."

I gathered myself, ran my fingers through my hair and walked up to the secretary's desk.

She was still on the phone, but now she was flipping through some papers in a manila folder. Her face was a mask of concentration.

"Uh huh. Yeah, I _know _he was arrested last week," She growled. There was a slight pause before she responded, "PROOF? Why do you need proof? He flipping buried a man alive! Shouldn't you be more concerned about finding evidence for that than trying to figure out when he was arrested?"

She stopped flipping through the files as I heard the garbled response on the other line, and she rested her head against a propped up hand. Finally, she realized I was standing there. She looked up at me with curiosity in her eyes and put her hand over the receiving end of the phone. "I'll be with you in a minute," She whispered.

I nodded and stepped back, finding the wall and leaning against it.

A few more minutes consisted of the lady arguing with whoever was on the other line, and finally she slammed the phone down with an exasperated sigh. "Life would be so easy if it wasn't for other people."

I bit my lip. She might be harder than normal to reach…

She looked up at me and smiled in a business-like matter, not in a flirty way like I was used to. "What can I do for you boys today?"

I looked down at the nametag above her newly polished badge: Barbara. That name fit her. When I didn't respond, she raised an eyebrow and her brown eyes lit up in impatience.

"Sorry," I said, flicking my head back and forth like I had just broken out of a trance. "I've got… a friend here. In prison, I mean. He was just recently arrested."

Her posture changed from formal to annoyed. "It's not the guy who buried a man alive, is it?"

I laughed a little too loudly and shook my head. "I promise. Even if it were I wouldn't say. I wouldn't want to make a pretty thing like you angry." She flashed me a glare, and I saw Bubbles stiffen behind me.

"Who are you here for then? Cut to the chase?" She growled.

"Professor Utonium. He was like a second father to me," I said.

She narrowed her eyes. "It's because of him that this town is slowly dying, you know? He's in the highest security we have because of those brats he calls children so they can't break him out."

Okay, so it appeared she wasn't just going to give him to me, even if I flirted a little bit. But at least we were getting this information out of her.

"So… can we see him?" Bubbles piped up from the other side of the room. She shot her a look, but then it softened. I looked over at Bubbles and saw that she was crying. Maybe I should have tried that approach, too… I wasn't even close to being myself right now. I was doing my Brick-impression right now. It wasn't too good, but it was one of the impressions I was better than Butch at.

The woman sighed and picked up her phone again. She dialed a number and was silent for a moment. When the person on the other end answered, she said, "Utonium to the phones. He's got a visitor. Err—two."

With that, she hung up and turned to us. "Only one of you can talk to him at a time, since there's only one phone line. Is that okay?"

I nodded, and I turned to Bubbles. "Bu—Brandon," I said, "You should talk to him. He liked you better."

She caught my meaning and flashed me a smile. We went to the cubicle that was closest to the door. She sat down in the chair and cast me a nervous glance. I moved to stand behind her, but not too close. We didn't really want to make that impression right now…

After a few minutes, a sharp noise sounded and a door on the other side of the plexiglass wall opened. A tall cop with a blonde mustache led a hand-cuffed professor to us, and made him sit down. He then moved away to a respectable distance, where most of his conversation wouldn't be heard but he could still jump to contain him if he needed to.

Professor Utonium gave us strange looks, and his dark eyes contained a haunted, hopeless gleam. He hadn't changed much since I'd seen him last. If anything, the only things that had changed were that he had a few more wrinkles, and some gray streaks in his hair. He picked up the phone gingerly after further examination.

Bubbles picked up her phone as well, her eyes never leaving him. Tears tumbled down her cheeks at a steady rate. I leaned forward to better pick up the conversation.

"Who are you two?" The professor demanded in a fearful tone.

"It's me," Bubbles whispered, letting her feminine voice ring over the receiver. The professor looked stunned.

"Bubbles?" He whispered back, not wanting to alert the officer behind him. This made me realize that there was probably a high bounty on the Powerpuff Girls.

"Yeah." She responded, a bit louder. His eyes moved from her to examine me. He took in my eyes, hair, and posture. Finally, when he was sure that I wasn't a girl disguised as a guy, he replied.

"Who's this gentlemen here?"

She looked up at me with uncertainty flickering in her beautiful blue eyes. I gave her a kind smile, and she looked toward her creator and father again. "It's Boomer."

The professor was so shocked, he dropped the phone. The officer behind him tensed and looked over, but when he saw nothing was wrong, he shifted and looked away again.

The professor retrieved the phone and looked up again. "B-Boomer Jojo?" He whispered, alarmed. "Is he holding you captive? Is he hurting you?"

I heard him begin to ramble off on all sorts of questions about the wellbeing of his children. Bubbles laughed beside herself. "Boomer's not hurting anyone or anything. If anything, he's the only helpful one out of all of them."

"All of them." The professor echoed, "You mean that all of the Rowdyruff Boys are back?"

"Yeah…" Bubbles muttered, becoming a little uncomfortable. "I-I'll explain later, once we get you out of here. That's why we're here."

His astonished expression changed to one that was very somber. "You can't break me out of here. It will bring more destruction to the town, get you noticed, and won't help anything. Just run away. If Boomer's taking care of you, then that's good. At least you'll have more protection."

Bubbles shook her head. "NO!" Her ferocity surprised not only the professor, but me as well. "I'm not going to let you live your life in this heck-hole!" I chuckled at her censorship.

Before the professor could object again, she spoke. "Look, we're just making small-talk. We're making it look like all we wanted to do was talk, but we're going to break you out in a matter of minutes, okay? Act normal, act innocent, sad even, we don't care. Just don't object when we get you out of here, alright?" She growled urgently into the phone.

The professor hadn't agreed, but she let the phone slip from her hand so he couldn't say anything more. With a deep sob, she heaved herself up and turned away from me and the secretary who had been looking at us.

I neatly hung the phone on the hook, and gave the professor a nervous smile. So much for first impressions with the parent…

I turned towards the secretary and gave her my best smile. "Thank you for that, Brandon really needed it. We'll be going now."

She smiled back at me in return, and she suddenly looked suspicious as I put my arm around Bubbles in a brotherly fashion and led her out of the door. As we stood in the parking lot, she looked over at me.

"Was that believable?" She asked.

"Totally. You were great in there," I said.

"You too," She murmured.

I looked around, and shuffled my feet. "Well… I guess it's time to put the plan in action, huh?"

She took a breath to respond, but suddenly her face drained of all color and her eyes opened wide in terror as her head tilted upward and she stared at something behind me.

I whirled around, but it was too late. I was rammed into the ground and held there, my face pressing up against the rough asphalt below me.

My brothers had found us.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N**

**Hello everyone! I'm ba-ack! (Bum Bum BUUUUM!)**

**There are already quite a number of you who have told me that they are going to submit a story for my little contest, and a few already have. Thanks for all the feedback! It makes me warm and fuzzy inside. I'm seeing a LOT of cool stuff so far!**

**Please continue to send stuff in! By the way, if you're looking for the contest write-up thing, it is now on my profile. :D. And also, if you want to see something I did when I was bored, you can look there too. I put pictures up of what I thought Butch would look like. It's mah favorite celebrity/lead singer/guitarist/music producer/actor. You should go see and tell me if you agree/disagree and who you think would be a better match. Also, if you want, tell me who you think would most look like the other characters :)**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, and sent in a story!**

**Ppgrulz123: Haha… well, I updated. I'm glad you're anticipating! Aww… I'm sorry about your uncle. And… I updated! Awesome! So happy you're trying the contest! G'luck!**

**Mew Pancake: I did! I hope you like it! :)**

**She-Pirates kick-BUTT: OMP? Haha. I'm guessing it's either a typo or it means something like "Oh My Pancreas!" The epic fighting scene will happen no matter what, I promise ;)**

**The-writing-vampire: Exactly. Hah.**

**Meli31295: Bubbles would look cute as a boy! Haha. I'm glad I'm back too :)**

**Vwvanlover: I updated! Haha. I'm so glad you're gonna try the contest! Good luck! :)**

**Shewolfgang: Thanks! Glad you thought it was awesome :) Pickles are awesome. I had a spicy one in the cafeteria the other day. Weird right? Haha. Thanks for reading :D**

**Soccertista219: Thanks! I'll try 8D**

**Curlyswirl: No confrontation between the guys this time, but it'll be in the next one! :) Thanks for readin'!**

**xSerenityIsn'tAlwaystheAnswerx: Yeah. I always think of Mojo as the only Jojo ;) Thank you much for reading! And it's not like you HAVE to do the contest. I just think it'd be cool to have everyone share their perspectives on the characters and couples ;)**

**CheshirePhantom: I'm afraid you'll have to wait a wee bit more. Thanks for reading! ;)**

**Sutekina T o r a: Thanks! And yeah. The girls are basically gonna go fight 'em. And I wouldn't ever ditch this story, I promise. SO GLAD YOU LOVE THIS! :)**

**JadeTyga: Boys do have the worst timing, don't they? Ahaha. I'm happy to update. (: BC and Blossom will be along shortly. I'm thinking about really drawing the ending out. At the end of this fight, it's not ending. I pwomise. It's not gonna be one of those ooshy-gooshy-everything-turns-out-okay stories. **

**Glooberglag: Cliffhangers suck, but rule all in the same sense xD I'm glad you liked my ending! And the other girls are in this chapter ;)**

**Wildone97: Yeah. It probably was Butch who slammed him into the ground. I haven't written it out yet, but that seems pretty logical, eh? X3 Haha, I can imagine that ending of your review pretty well. Are we in a mafia film? Haha. Thanks for reading!**

**Bubblycutie: Dramatic music rocks xD**

**TheAlmightyHachu: Thanks for thinking it's a great story! Blossom and Buttercup are in this chapter, and a fight's going to break out extremely soon! :)**

**Fallenheather: I'm glad you thought it was awesome! This one is semi-greens, but it's more of a dramatic sister-scene. We'll get more BC and Butch soon ;)**

**Sana96: Thanks for reading! And thanks for wishing me luck. Ima need it 0.o**

**ButchieGirl: Thanks! I'm glad you think my stories are cool, and I try my best to use punctuation. I guess all of my grammar classes paid off… Thanks for wishing me luck! :) Thanks! That's a compliment. I love writing, and I'm 15 by the way :) Glad you like the song-fic idea! I bet you could write. It just takes an interesting subject, I guess. I mean, if you told me to write about something like… I dunno, the history of algebra, I'd probably lose all of my writers qualities and just drone on, and on, and on… but I'll totally PM you some time! It seems like we'd get along!**

**Alexandera: It's hard to update sometimes… I guess you've just gotta get inspiration. Get the juices flowin', ya know? I'm glad you think that the chapter was awesome! Milkshakes. Rule. Haha.**

**Sey-ukftw: Haha, love you too. I love all of you berry much :O. I look forward to that fan-art! Take your time! Haha I'm so lame I have to find pictures on google of real people to supply for visuals of the characters x3 I'm glad the update made your afternoon. Boomer is pretty adorable, aint he? :) Thanks for reading! And this story isn't as stressful as school, trust me. Haha. I hope you try the contest! I'm pretty sure your writing isn't "Ugh" hahaha.**

**FKS: Is it creepy that my principal who is probably 50 years old says "Omg?" Haha. That just always reminds of her. Thanks for reading!**

**Ikuni Hattori: I'm happy to put this chapter up! Haha. You'll see about the girls in this chapter ;) Thanks for reading!**

**Canzie: Yeah… you won't see what happens til the next chapter though… sorry!**

**ChilosaCookieMonstar96: So glad you love my story! Thanks for reading! :)**

**SnowWinter22: Well, I can't exactly count that in the contest since it's not PPG… but I'll read it! I'm a Chipmunk fan! :)**

**KeroNya: Haha, alright, alright! I posted! Your review made me laugh :) And I managed to get a chapter up DURING finals. Pretty skilled.**

**Animeskullgirl16: Glad you loved my chapter! Thanks for reading! :)**

**Powerpuffan28: Awesome! I'm excited that you'll send something in! Good luck, have fun!**

**And thanks to: ChilosaCookieMonstar96, ButchieGirl, -Ivashkov (By the way… is your Ivashkov part Adrian Ivashkov form V.A?), Blackbird924, Year of the Butterfly, Powerpuffan28, dancer-purple, CallMehHayleeD, its meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, and xXboom-lay-boomXx for favoriting and following! **

**Anyways, it's time for the next chapter. This one, I decided, would be Blossom and Buttercup. It's to add the tension to the next chapter when you get to see what happens to Boomer and Bubbles, and I think it'll be pretty intense 'cause well, ya know… Blossom kissed the enemy ;) And I know I did Buttercup the chapter before the last one, but I thought it would make this even MORE intense.**

**So… Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE PPGS, BUT I DO OWN A TEAPOT.**

_**It seems like each time I'm with you I lose my mind, because I'm bending over backwards to relate. **_**Anyone know where that's from? =3**

**I'll shut up now…**

Chapter 22

(Buttercup POV)

I continued to glare up at the sky out of the massive hole in the wall in the gas station as it burned down around me.

What. The. Hell.

People didn't know things like that about each other! Some people didn't even know those things about themselves!

I scanned over the logical answers to this in my mind, trying to find something that would lock into place. Something that actually made _sense!_

I hadn't told anyone! Had I? My sisters knew about my favorite movie, and maybe they paid attention to the fondness in my face as my favorite quote was said and realized how much I liked it. But that was about it, right? And they hadn't even watched the freaking thing with me! I had gone to the movie theater by myself so… how…?

I barely told my sisters, or anyone else, anything! I kept it all inside, and I'd drown my sorrows or worries in song when I lay in my bed, stared up at the ceiling, and had my iPod turned up to full volume with some form of rock playing harshly. And my sisters hated my taste in music! How could they have known my favorite band?

Butch surely couldn't have been figuring me out for that long… he said they'd just got back from training to come and destroy our home and us. They'd surely only had about a couple of days, a week at most, to find out the basics on us and monitor us.

When was the last time I'd listened to Rage Against the Machine, or watched The Dark Knight? It had been awhile, with the various tests we'd had at school and my stupid math class I hadn't had enough time.

What the hell? That was the only thing I could really think, or even say to myself. There was no logical explanation I could come up with. I hadn't told anyone any of that, and surely I hadn't talked in my sleep that much if I had at all.

And the weirdest part, I realized, was that somber, honest look in his face when he said it. When he hesitated with that last thing, about my first kiss, like he was almost unsure whether he should say it or not. I'd never seen him like that, never knew he could BE like that.

I wanted to punch something, to take my anger out on something. To scream as loud as I could, to knock down a few buildings, to FLY. Instead, I balled my hands into fists and dug my fingernails into my palms. I felt them break skin, and sensed blood as it gently began to seep out of the small cuts. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, and then I opened them again.

Blossom sulked up into view a few minutes later. Her long auburn hair had grass and mud caked into it, and even a little blood. I hoped it wasn't hers. Her clothes were covered in the same stuff, as well. Her eyes were wide with some emotion, and when she realized I was standing there, she quickly wiped her face clean.

It took me only a second to remember why she would look like that.

Then I wanted to punch something again. TWO sisters! TWO FREAKING SISTERS had betrayed me and had fallen for the enemy! Was I the only loyal one around here? Was it just Butch and I who stayed true to our word? I shivered. Another thing we had in common…

I bit my lip hard, and forced away my emotions of betrayal, reminding myself that it was my sister. That I had to forgive. That Brick could possibly help us, like Boomer had. But he was the leader. And I doubted Butch would follow an order like, 'Let's just give up this stupid thing and date the Powerpuff Girls!' Because I sure as hell wouldn't if Blossom gave it.

Once her face was wiped clean, I also had my emotions under control. She sighed, as if she had been defeated, and lifted herself up into the air, so she was floating.

"Come on," She sighed, "Let's go find Bubbles and Boomer before those two do."

I nodded, and tried to fight back another surge of anger.

It took me a second to remember how to use my flying skills, but once I had it, we were off, leaving behind trails of neon green and pink.

We flew silently and slowly to Townsville at first, keeping an eye on each other just in case one of us fell.

About three minutes after we had begun flying, Blossom happened to glance over and notice my bleeding palms.

She smirked and motioned towards my hands. "What happened there?" She asked. "Did Butch like, throw you around?"

I scoffed. "He couldn't if he tried." At least not physically. He almost fried my brain with all of those secrets…

"Oh," Was all she said, and she averted her ruby gaze. It didn't look like she was going to bring up her little fight with Brick, so I figured I should do it myself. Just to see if she would lie. If she was the perfect Blossom I'd always known.

"So, did you drive Brick away, or did he leave by himself?" I asked with a mischievous smirk, "'Cause when he came to take Butch, he looked like he'd been buried alive."

She shrugged. "We rolled down some of those hills, and crashed into some, too." _Hmm… I have the feeling that other things came together. The things that help you eat food, perhaps? _I thought, but didn't say it out loud.

"Seemed like you gave him a good ass-kicking. He was bleeding in a few places," I said, almost nonchalantly.

"Oh?" She murmured, and she still wouldn't look at me. She was trying to look interested in that, and she was, but in the wrong way. She almost looked… worried.

"Yeah," I replied. "What'd you do to him?"

She shrugged, and I knew I was getting somewhere. She was getting quite a bit uncomfortable.

"Ya know… I punched him, and kicked him…" _And kissed him…_

"Well, psh, obviously," I snorted, "But I wanna know the _details! _You know how much I like a good fight."

She shrugged. "Well, neither of us won. He kinda just left…" Before I could ask another question, she asked one herself, and a little hurriedly I may add. "Did you rough Butch up a little bit?"

I laughed. "Yeah. But he popped my arm out of its socket." I moved my arm a little tentatively, still feeling the soreness even though I had managed to fix it.

"Did you guys do the Butch-Buttercup argue-flirt thing?"

Woooooaah sister. That was a _bit too far!_

"Huh?" I demanded, turning to look at her full on. I almost hit a tree in the process, but I managed to avoid it just in time.

She smiled, feeling my obvious dismay.

"You always do it. Where you call each other a name but don't really mean it," She said, a sly smile creeping up to grace her features.

"_Don't mean it?_" I shouted, "I mean every word!"

"But I bet'cha he doesn't." She was trying to distract me. That's what she was trying to do! She knew that I knew, I bet.

"Would you quit that?" I snarled, "You may feel attracted to your flipping counterpart but that doesn't mean that I have to! And there's nothing you can do to make me!"

She turned towards me in alarm, but then became angry as well. "Who said I 'felt attracted' to Brick?"

"I do! Butch and I both do! We _heard _you when you were sucking face! Superhuman senses remember?" I shouted.

She turned towards me, stopping abruptly. I flew a few more feet and then I stopped, too.

The sun was rising in the sky, casting orange, purple, and blue everywhere. The pine and spruce beneath us looked twice as tall because of their heavy shadows. The air had a chill, since it was mid-October, but as anger coursed through my veins I didn't feel it. It heated me like a campfire.

"I did it to distract him!" She yelled back, but I sensed the distressed note and realized almost immediately that it was a total and complete lie. I said so.

"You're such a freaking liar, you know that? What happened to the Leader Girl I always knew? Does High School really change who you are?" I demanded, not really expecting an answer.

"She's still here!" Blossom snarled, "But she didn't think she'd have to come out! She thought that the logical, more mature Blossom would handle the talking! That she'd let her violent sister get her out of the situation because she was more capable to do so!" She paused, waiting for me to object I was guessing? But I didn't, and so she continued.

"You know Buttercup, even when I said we needed to stop using our powers in order to really protect the town, I didn't mean it. I _wanted_ to do what you did. To be ready just in case this happened, and I knew it would eventually. If we both would have been ready, we could have gotten out in less than a heartbeat," She said, voice growing quiet and thoughtful. "And I don't think you've ever stopped to think that I admire you for what you do. How you never let anyone push you around. I don't either but… I let people think I'm just some simple-minded genius. I don't do the unexpected like you do." She sighed and looked down at the forest below us, but then her head flashed up so her eyes could meet mine. "But sometimes, I wish you'd just hear me out. I wish you wouldn't argue just for the sake of arguing."

I took a breath to shout at her, but she put her hand up to silence me, and although I didn't want to, I complied. She'd just said that I never listened, and I didn't want to prove her point.

"I just realized something, okay? Well, I did when I was fighting _him_," She took a deep breath and swallowed like it hurt, "I realized that we were ALL made for each other. ALL OF US. And if we just complied to the feelings that we all feel for each other, but in different ways, we wouldn't have to fight. We could all protect Townsville together. Maybe those other villains would come after us, but we're six super humans! Together, we'd be unstoppable. I think he realized it, too. So that's why we kissed," She explained, and then she closed her eyes, waiting for my objection.

I turned this information over and over in my head, repeating her words in rates so fast the normal brain would have exploded if it had tried to comprehend it.

She took my silence as an agreement, and so she said, "Maybe he's running it by Butch right now."

I looked up at her so fast she winced. "Then I bet he's giving Brick the same response," I growled. "NO. We're enemies. They've tried to hurt us. They're trying as we speak to hurt our little sister, and they've been destroying our home, and putting our loved ones in peril. I bet they've killed people. Some things can't be forgiven. I say the hell with 'we're made for each other.' They were made for evil we were made for good. They'll always BE evil, and we'll always BE good! I'm not going to let this crime slide, Blossom. You can go run off with your perfect man, but I'll keep fighting because it's what I'm supposed to do."

And before she could respond, I leaned into the breeze and sped off as fast as I could go towards Townsville.

Amazingly, I didn't hit anything or anyone. I flew with the experience of someone who still flew regularly.

I arrived in Townsville in only a matter of minutes, and spotted the people I was looking for in a matter of seconds.

I spotted two heads of glittering blonde hair, a red head, and a guy with black hair all wrestling in the parking lot of the city prison, and I plummeted towards it like a hawk swooping to enslave its prey, aiming for the broad back of my black-haired counterpart.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N**

**Here it is. The long awaited chapter! **

**But this is sooo not the end. Not at all. There are so many more cryptic chapters to come.**

**That means cliffhangers. OH CRAP!**

**Thanks to my reviewers, followers, and favorite-ers!**

**xSerenityIsn'tAlwaystheAnswerx: Hello my Sum 41 buddy! :D Haha, you rock, you know that? ;)**

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**Jenaca: Haha. Maybe they'll get together. I'm not gonna say… ;) Thanka for readin'!**

**Curlyswirl: Yeah. That would be a tad bit weird to have someone know all of that information… without you telling them. Thanks for reading!**

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**Thaliahtill: Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and I'm so freakin' happy you love it! How do you do that heart thing? That's really cool… happy you think it's good! And thanks for noticing my efforts with each character's personality. I think it's most important to make each one stand out like they did in the show. Again, thanks for reading!**

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**Anyways… this chapter should be an "OHEMGEE"-er. I honestly don't think this was expected, and I haven't seen it in other stories.**

**Please tell me what you think!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the PPGs. But I believe in unicorns. Hee-hee.**

Chapter 23

(Butch's POV)

That jack-off. Who did he think he was anyway? Saying not to do something, and doing it himself! Even though there was no way in hell I'd develop 'feelings' for Buttercup.

What did they call those people?

Hypothermia? No, hypocrites. That was it.

The only thing I said to him as we flew to Townsville to locate our baby brother and his new girlfriend, was, "I heard you two got physical."

He glared at me, aware of what I was hinting at. He took a breath to speak, and I saw that reasonable glint in his eye, like he was going to suggest something.

Before he could get more than two words out, though, I sped up and left him behind in my army green trail.

I heard him shout at me, but I just kept going. I wasn't going to stop until I found Boomer and could shove the little brat's face into the ground. My anger was building up inside of me, so much that I wanted to blow up the first thing that came into sight. Like that night in the bathroom at the gas station.

I sped up even more, grinding my teeth in the effort that it took.

I approached Townsville a few seconds later, having nearly gone at top speed. I paused for only a second to look at the ground below me, and my eyes swiveled over to Townsville's Prison because I felt that strange pull that I always got when I was near my brothers. I'd never told anybody, because I was the only one to get it.

I'd quizzed my brothers about it in a passive way, trying to secretly figure out if they could sense where I was at times, too. But no. I was the only one. Like I was the only one now that hadn't fallen for my freaking counterpart.

A demented smile spread across my face as I plummeted towards the ground, palms facing outward to press him to the pavement.

He had his back to me, but Bubbles was facing me. She was dressed in some of my cargo pants, my monster-brand T-shirt, and had her hair up with a green beanie in her hand. I smirked, already knowing why he had dressed her in my clothes, and why they were _here. _So he'd taken her to see the professor, eh?

My angelic little brother.

This thought fired me up even more, and as I approached him Bubbles noticed me and her eyes widened. Before he could turn around, I was on him, reaching around to take him by the wrists, putting them behind his back, and forcing his cheek against the pavement.

I kept my hands on his back, and pushed down even harder. I looked up at a horrified Bubbles and I smiled at her.

"Sorry," I said, "Green's not your color."

She glared at me and opened her mouth to do a sonic scream, I could tell, but in that moment a flash of red zapped between us, and suddenly Brick was standing there. He held his head high and had his arms crossed.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," He growled.

Now seeing that she was outnumbered, she fell back a little bit and she looked up at the sky hopefully, searching for the familiar neon pink and green streaks, but found nothing.

I leaned down so that my mouth was level with Boomer's ear.

"Hey, kid," I laughed. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Helping them escape," He rasped. "This isn't right."

"Isn't right?" I laughed, and then I sat up again and looked over at Brick. "He says this isn't right."

Brick and I roared with laughter, but there was something in my older brother's eye that made his laugh in genuine. I hated that, but ignored it for now. I had other business to take care of.

"Alright, so here's what we're gonna do," I said, leaning down again, "I'm gonna take care of you, and Brick is gonna take care of Bubbles and the other girls while I do it. I think it's time you reviewed everything we've ever been _taught _about _life, Boomer!"_

He struggled as he yelled, "It's not right! None of it is! We'd be much safer, _and _happier if we fought with them, and not against them! Everything Him or Mojo taught us was absolutely wrong!"

"You know what you basically just said, kiddo?" I growled, and then I yanked his arm upward, which made him grunt in pain. "You just confirmed that you were the traitorous bastard I thought you were."

"Go to Hell, Butch," He snarled into the ground. Bubbles gasped over from where she stood in a stare-down with Brick. She must have noticed the murderous look on my face as I glared down at my soon-to-be immobilized team-mate. That's how I thought of him now. He was no longer my brother as far as I was concerned.

I bent down, preparing to twist both of his arms around, but then a sudden pressure on my back made me break my grip and fall against Boomer.

I growled in pain and cussed in frustration, because now I was being forced against the pavement. But I didn't need to know what had happened.

"Hey, Sunshine," I gasped, "So you decided to join the party?" I heard her take a breath to say something, but I jolted upward so fast that she couldn't contain me, and I spun around, reversing her hold on my wrists and clinging to hers.

We faced each other, and she glared up at me with contempt as I squeezed her wrists.

"Boomer's right," She hissed, "You should go to hell. Maybe so you can finally freaking leave me alone!"

"You're the one who came here."

Her glare deepened, if possible, and she leaned forward to growl into my ear, "You know why I'm here. I want freaking answers, and I want you to leave my sisters alone, too."

"I'll leave you alone when you're dead," I laughed softly, and then I shoved her away as hard as I could.

She flew at least ten feet, and smashed against the Prison's dumpster, going through it and scattering trash all across the parking lot. She got up and wiped herself off.

Some unspoken signal went off in that second, because all of a sudden fights broke out around me.

It seemed like everything happened at once. Bubbles swung at Brick, and she would have hit home right on the bridge of his nose, but suddenly a pink streak came out of nowhere and shoved Brick out of the way. Blossom was on him, punching the hell out of him in any place she felt necessary.

Boomer, who had gotten up after I had been attacked, moved to join her.

While I had been sidetracked by that, Buttercup had flown back to me from where she had collapsed by the dumpster, and she had grabbed me by the collar and flew into the outer walls of the prison, pinning me there to beat the shit out of me, no doubt.

Seconds later, Bubbles joined her. I guess she and Boomer couldn't fight since they had a thing going…

Buttercup swung, but I swiveled my neck to the right to avoid contact with her fist. Bubbles moved in and tried to kick me in the ribs with a flip-flop, but she winced and moved back because of her own injury. I silently thanked Brick for making Boomer hurt her, because I couldn't handle two opponents right now.

At Bubbles' little groan of pain, Buttercup turned to her with a snarl. "Go help Blossom and Boomer. I've got this."

The blonde Puff gave her a slight nod and limped off to help her oldest sister and her boyfriend.

Buttercup turned back to me with a sneer and successfully punched me in the abdomen. I wheezed a laugh, and she growled.

"How did you know that information?" She demanded, and when I laughed again, she landed another blow to my abs.

"That's for me to know and for you to never find out," I wheezed. That was true. I didn't want her to ever find out. Not only would it be extremely awkward, it would also be romantic… at least in the way I envisioned it. HELL NO. I didn't want to be _that _guy.

As far as I was concerned, she would NEVER find out.

"Wanna bet on that?" She slugged me in the cheek, which dislodged my jaw again from when I had cracked in back into place. I groaned as my jaw went slack and tried to move my hands to fit it back into place, but no such luck. "I'll beat it out of you, Pretty Boy, and you know it."

"I wouldn't doubt it for a second," I drawled with another laugh. "I like my nickname, though. You should keep that, Sunshine."

She scoffed and aimed another punch at my abdomen, but my comment had distracted her. Some unknown emotion flitted across her face and she lost her grip on my shirt. At this small chance of freedom, I ducked and swept her feet out from under her.

She fell with an, "oof!" and as she sat there, I fitted my jaw back into place with a weird sound that was similar to me cracking all of my knuckles at the same time. I shivered slightly and hoped that that had been the last time she would aim for my face.

"What's wrong, Sunshine? Lost your sense?" I laughed, and I kicked her slightly in the leg to make her look up.

She looked up through her eyelashes, and they stood out starkly against her bright green eyes. I was reminded again of my stupid dreams and of our last confrontation, and I had to resist the urge to be kind to her right then.

I had no idea why that sudden need had come over me. All I knew was that I wanted to act exactly the opposite towards her. As of now, I wanted to ignore her.

She stood up and braced herself to fight me, and I forced myself to look over her and see the other fight that was taking place a few dozen feet away from us. Sparing her one last glance, I bolted away from her and pushed myself off of the ground, blasting forward to scoop Blossom off of my older brother and force her to the ground.

She didn't protest until she realized that she was being fought by someone who was _not _her counterpart.

"Get off of me!" She snarled, and she started to kick out. I just pinned her there, and I looked over at my redheaded brother.

"Come on, man. I've got her here for ya," I called with a smile. He was just standing there, staring at the both of us.

Deciding that he wasn't sure what to do, I sent a blow to Blossom's stomach with my right fist, and she gasped in pain. She wasn't used to it like Buttercup.

I was preparing to send another one home and was pulling my hand behind my head to get more leverage and speed when suddenly a hand closed around it, stopping me from punching Blossom again.

I looked up, preparing to meet green eyes.

But I stopped. And I panicked.

What was happening?

Instead of Buttercup's bright green eyes, I met the blood red ones of my brother.

"Stop, Butch," He ordered.

I paused, and I looked down at his shoes, blinking for a moment and processing what he had said. Finally I laughed, waiting for his laugh as well, but nothing came from him.

I looked up again and found that he was dead serious.

"Why? Why should I stop? They're the enemy."

He shook his head. "No. They're not. She's right."

"Who's right?"

"Blossom is. We've got this pull to each other, you know? It's like two magnets…" He trailed off, and he looked down at her with this freakish dreamy glaze over his eyes.

I stared, and then looked down at her and found this look reciprocated.

I looked around me, to see Boomer and Bubbles standing together, hands joined.

I saw Buttercup standing a few feet away, and she looked mad. _Very _mad.

Like I was.

"What the hell, Brick? You just think you're gonna give up our purpose in life and forget everything we've been taught for _her? _You're gonna give up everything we've worked for just to _get some? _You know all those lazy villains will finally man up and come after us, right?_"_ I demanded, my voice rising to such a level that I was shouting.

"But we're six superheroes with super powers. So long as we're together, we're invincible. We can fight evil together, and be happy! Don't you get it, Butch? We can be happy! For once in our freaking lives we can _always _be happy!" He said, his voice lacking the usual villainous emotion.

I stared at him, wide-eyed and mouth open for a moment, but then my face changed completely.

As far as I was concerned now, I was an only child.

I glared at him with so much hate that I saw him flinch and he tried to reach towards me, but I stood up abruptly.

"You're wrong," I growled quietly, and I stepped away from Blossom to come nose to nose with. "You're so wrong they could lock you up in an asylum."

He blinked at me, ready to take in my words. Ready for me to confess my love for Buttercup or some shit like that and for me to go with them into the rainbow and live the happy life he now talked about.

"You're _five _superheroes, and so long as _you're _together, you're invincible," I looked around me with a glare, and then I stepped away from my brother and backed towards the road.

I needed to do this. If this was what was going on, this was the only healthy thing for me to do.

"Think of yourselves as twins, my brothers. So long as _this _little thing is present around here, I won't be," I growled, and I pointed to Bubbles and Boomer, and then Brick and Blossom to show what I meant.

And after that, I turned around and lifted myself from the ground. I glanced behind me one last time, and my eyes fell on Buttercup. She was looking up at me with a reserved expression, and an unspoken conversation flashed between us.

_It's for their own good. Maybe they'll see how wrong they are._

_I would do the same thing, Pretty Boy._

I imagined we would say.

And then I propelled myself forwards and upwards as fast as I could fly.

I needed to get the hell out of there.

And I needed to never go back.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N**

**Good morrow! **

**I'd just like to say that as of now, I have received nine songfics (or a notice that they're going to write a songfic) from the following people: ppgrulz123, Shewolfgang, Flamingblitz, Vwvanlover, TotallyPowerPuff, Rocket11b, PPGxRRB-luv, Pikalover10, and Powerpuffan28. If you have posted a song-fic for this contest and I have not read it/reviewed it, please contact me through a review or messaging :) I love all the stories I've seen so far!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed my story!  
Sutekina T o r a: Eeek! Not just epic, but effin' epic? THANKS! **

**Ppgrulz123: I'm glad that you're speechless and that you loved it :)**

**Shewolfgang: You almost cried? I'm so happy! (Jeez… that sounds jacked up.) Thank you for reading!**

**Curlyswirl: Thanks! Glad you think I played it out perfectly. I think Butch is going to be a /bit/ more difficult to turn good haha.**

**FKS: GLAD YOU THINK IT'S AWESOME! And I lubb you and all my reviewers for reviewing ;)**

**Ikuni Hattori: Thank you! I don't think I've gotten a "bravo" before =3**

**Jenaca: Hahaha. I hoped that would be your response :)**

**Meyrin-x-ZAFTgirl: I guess the greens kind of are the same, haha. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Alexandera: Thanks! I try on the time and feelings and stuff… happy you think my story is perfect! And sure, bestie ;)**

**AFI: Woah jeez… I actually Boomer kind of looking just like him. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Pikalover10: Glad you loved the chap! Thanks for reading!**

**Meli31295: Brick is like the big brother I always wanted =3. People think I'm crazy for wanting a big bro, but hey, it's better than a psycho little sister who looks nothing like you o.O Thanks for reading! Haha.**

**Sey-ukftw: Cliff-hangers, man, they're addicting. Coolio! I'm looking forward to seeing that picture :)**

**She-pirates kick-BUTT: Yeah, I agree with Butch, too. Demented is fun! It just like, rolls off the tongue and makes you feel all giddy :)**

**Vwvanlover: So glad that you loved the chapter! Thank you for reading! :)**

**The-writing-vampire: I let Butch read your letter from his place in my heart (lol, I sound like such a hippie right there…) and he'll get you a reply soon, I promise ;) I'm so glad that you enjoyed the chapter! I was going to do a chapter from another characters' perspective on the fight scene, but I didn't feel like I had enough to write about =/ Sorry! Thanks for reading :)**

**Animechic12: Thanks! :)**

**Iwannasnaptheirnecks-Brookey: Uh…? Hehe. Thanks for reading.**

**xSerenityIsn'tAlwaystheAnswerx: Hypothermia is close to Hypocrite in the "hyp" way! At least he didn't call him a hippie or something, hehehe. I always chuckle a little at your reviews :) Thanks for reading!**

**Sana96: Thanks! I had to work my brain to think of that little twist o.O Thanks for reading!**

**Glooberglag: Yeah… he's a loner, aint he?**

**Littlemisskickbutt: Hehe, I feel like I'm missing an inside joke with all the "snap their necks" things, =1**

**Animeskullgirl16: I'm so glad you like the chapter and twist! Thanks for reading!**

**Thaliahtill: I'm so glad that you loved the counterparts together, and thanks for noticing my effort in keeping everything in character! And as for the heart thing, that's smart… and I should have realized that. *****head desk* Blonde moment!**

**Mew Pancake: Thanks for reading! (:**

**xXduncanxloverXx: Aww, that makes me so happy to hear that you love my story :) Thank you for reading and recognizing my efforts with the story!**

**TheAlmightyHachu: Yeah… the greens are difficult. (That sentence is kinda funny 'cuz I could be talking about money and vegetables too…) I'm also pretty sure that I'll write a sequel. Thank you for reading!**

**MewMewSugara: Aww I'm so happy that this is one of your favorite stories! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**PB: Thank you! I'm glad you think that this is amazing! Jeez, you're a fast reader. 64k+ words in two days? Wow. Thanks for reading!  
Puppielover724: Thanks! :)**

**Chica: Heh, I updated!**

**And thanks to: clueless c, Yuleox, xXduncanxloverXx, DEWFAL, and someone called ScourgeOTG for favoriting and following!**

**You guys do realized that I covered about 4 pages of my Microsoft word thingie with review replies, riiiight? Wow. You guys rock!**

**So I guess we all agree that last chapter chapter was a "OHEMGEE"-er, and I'm glad for that!**

**So now I'm just gonna tell you that it's not gonna be TOO exciting for a while.**

**Just an emotional rollercoaster for some :) Meaning, like I said, CLIFFHANGERS.**

**Also, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Even though it was yesterday. Christmas is the reason I haven't been able to get this up, but it's up now… so… yeah.**

**And also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JARED LETO! If you don't know who he is, I have one word, well actually two. Google. Images.**

**Also, one more thing. I know, you hate me because this authors note is about 1,000 words long. Jeez…**

**But anyway, starting with the next chapter, I'm going to put a song title near the disclaimer that I think is themed off of the chapter.**

**So…**

**Enjoy?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Powerpuff Girls.**

Chapter 24

(Blossom's POV)

After Butch left, things didn't go back to normal, but it was close enough.

Boomer wanted to go after him immediately, but Brick held him back with words like: "It's too soon, let him cool off," and, "He WONT come back if we go after him now."

So we took that time to free my father, and try to convince the authorities that it was all some big misunderstanding.

It was hard in a way, but eventually we had the Mayor on our side again for the first time in years.

We had gone straight to his office when Brick had decided that they shouldn't go after their dark-haired brother immediately.

At the sight of us, the mayor pointed and shrieked, calling for security. I had flown straight over to his desk, begging him to hush and to listen.

The years hadn't been too kind. He was still extremely short with his white mustache and hair, but many wrinkles had been added to his face, along with a few dozen pounds…

To say the least, I could tell that he had a new love for junk food and TV along with all of those pickles and the occasional sunflower seeds.

In the end, he complied. I told him how the Rowdyruff Boys, in order for them to destroy the town, had kidnapped us. He began to object and to have security—which had shown up to listen in, anyway—arrest them, but I interrupted him and begged him to listen again.

Having remembered his soft spot for the Powerpuff Girls, he decided to hear me out, thankfully.

I told him about how we'd developed relationships among ourselves, and how they had realized their mistake and were no longer seeking their vengeance on this town or us.

He looked us over with soft, blue eyes, and then he let us go. Unfortunately, we still had to have a hearing for the Professor and for Boomer and Brick, but it all turned out all right.

The Professor went unpunished and was able to return to his job, seeing that it wasn't us whom had caused the damages anyhow and he hadn't needed to be arrested in the first place. Brick and Boomer had to clean up the town because of the damage they had caused, and they didn't object. So long as they got to be around us.

Everything was almost perfect. _Almost._

The only thing missing out of this happy ending was the third and final Rowdyruff. It had been nearly two weeks, and Butch still hadn't come back.

The boys left on a search for a few days, saying that they'd bring him back. Boomer was talking directly to Bubbles and I, but Brick kept swiveling his eyes to look over at a distant-seeming Buttercup. She hadn't had a big part in any matter over the past two weeks. It was like she didn't care. I knew she did… she had to! But now I wasn't so sure…

If Butch was her counterpart, and he had _left _in order to stay away from a relationship, surely she had to be the same.

I now regretted more than ever the fact that my sisters and I had drifted apart, and I knew nothing about either of them anymore besides the obvious things. Maybe if we were still close, I would know how she felt about all of this.

So the boys left for a few days to find him. No such luck. They came home with empty hands and empty hearts, and they denied it, but they were desperate for their brother's company.

I didn't blame them. Although we weren't close anymore, I would miss Buttercup more than anything if she left.

By the end of October all legal issues were taken care of and we were allowed to go back to school. Boomer and Brick enrolled also, wanting to be able to live as normal as possible. Boomer was able to join the football team, and Brick quickly earned himself a spot in Honor Roll and on the Student Council.

Boomer and Bubbles started going out immediately, and they held hands and kissed on our couch at home nearly constantly. They were seen often together, and were usually proclaimed cutest couple.

It took me and Brick a little while to get used to each other, or even the fact that we could be together if we wanted to.

For the first month or so after our fight and Butchs' departure, it was kind of awkward to be around him. Every so often in school I would open the door and would find myself facing him, or would accidentally touch his hand when he handed out graded papers in Trigonometry. He'd do the same thing each time. He'd smile at me tentatively, give me a slight wink, and then move away.

It always left me with a giddy feeling inside.

Finally at lunch one day, he left his usual table and friends and came to sit at the one I shared with Bubbles, Buttercup, and—occasionally—Boomer. Bubbles and Boomer were sitting across from me, and Buttercup was sitting beside Bubbles, looking down at her food and avoiding all eye contact. She'd been hanging out with friends more than usual lately.

Brick sauntered over, and slid in across from me, nudging Boomer out of the way as he talked animatedly with my blonde sister.

I looked up from my sandwich, surprised at the new company, and my ruby eyes widened as I met his blood red gaze.

"Hey," He said, and he gave me a wide smile.

"Uh… hi," I replied, a bit uncertainly, but also returning the smile. "What's up?"

"Nothing. Just wondering something," He looked up at me with a distracted glaze over his eyes, and I knew what he was going to say.

"I'm guessing you still haven't heard anything on Butch? Because I haven't either."

He looked surprised. "Um, no, for once, actually. I mean, that's not what I was going to ask you."

"Oh." I said, a bit surprised myself, "Then… ask away!"

"Alright, so I know this is weird," He began to ramble, "Because, ya know, a month ago… I thought we had that thing going because you kissed me, and I made Butch stop punching you, and then he ran away and stuff… but anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to…?"

He didn't finish the sentence, but my heart was pounding so hard I thought it was going to stop altogether. I looked up to see Boomer and Bubbles staring at us with wide blue eyes, but then they turned to each other immediately and started talking a bit too loud. They were doing the "we were doing this the whole time and didn't hear a word you just said!" thing.

I laughed shakily and brushed some of my silky auburn hair behind my ear. "Uh… yeah! Sure! I'd love to!"

He smiled, and then he stood up. "I'll pick you up at seven then?"

"Yeah. I'll look forward to it."

I felt like a giddy little girl, and I was ashamed to admit it.

I felt eyes boring into the side of my head, and I turned again to see my dark-haired sister, without a counterpart, watching me intently.

Abruptly Buttercup got up and moved to throw her food away, and she was obviously aware that my eyes were following her every move because she walked a little too fast to a group of her friends huddled near a table at the other end of the cafeteria, skateboards in hand.

I had that eerie feeling that she wouldn't sit with us anymore.

The year progressed, moving into November and then December. Brick and I started going steady, along with Bubbles and Boomer. Buttercup got home later and later each night. She was almost never with us.

After a while I realized that this was _her _way of avoiding a relationship. Butch was distancing himself physically, and she was doing it emotionally and mentally.

I accepted this after a while, and still tried to talk to her, but she still wouldn't associate with me. I began to feel that ache in my heart that you only feel when you lose something.

Butch was still missing.

I walked out of class one day about halfway through the period. On my way to the bathroom, I spotted Boomer near the front of the school by the flagpole.

He was sitting on the bench with his head in his hands. I didn't even need to know why.

I sat down next to him and lay my hand on his shoulder in a comforting, sisterly gesture. His head snapped up and he looked at me, confused for a moment, but then thankful as he registered whom it was.

I took my hand off of his shoulder and we sat in silence. I didn't think I was doing much for him.

He sighed suddenly, and his shoulders sagged and his head fell forward.

"He's never been gone this long," he whispered.

I smirked. "I gather that."

He ignored my comment and he turned his head to face me. "Sometimes, at home, Brick accidentally says something like: "What do you say, Butch?" or, "I dunno, ask Butch." And then… it's like something comes over him. He gets this sad, tormented look on his face, and then he goes into his room and shuts his door and stays there for hours. Sometimes I hear crashing sounds and stuff…" He trailed off, and he swallowed, trying to cope with the fact that his leader and oldest brother was tearing himself up over his other brother's departure. "It's almost like he… like Butch died, Blossom! When you're not around Brick, he's completely different… It's like he's losing it, y'know?"

He put his head in his hands, and I looked at him sympathetically.

It wasn't all a happy ending. Without their third part, they were falling to pieces.

"Well… you could always give me and Bubbles up and go find him," I said with a slight shrug. He looked up immediately, blue eyes like cold fire.

"No. I'm not leaving Bubbles." Wow. I'd never doubt his loyalty.

I smiled, and reached over to rustle his blonde hair. He smirked and lightly shoved my hand away.

"I'll talk to Brick, okay? We can figure this out. I know it's hard to forget him but… you could choose Butch or a relationship… and both of you chose a relationship. It's your choice whether you want to forgive and forget or not," I sighed, and he looked away.

"Thanks, Bloss. I guess I'd better get back to class. My criminal record's not completely gone, and I doubt ditching would make me look good. Better kiss up to the man, eh?" He laughed without much emotion, and then he got up. I followed suit.

We went our separate ways, and that was the end of that.

After classes, of course, I found Brick and took him to eat dinner at a drive-in. I told him about Boomer and his revelation about Brick's little episodes, and finally Brick opened up to me.

He felt tormented, that he hadn't done anything to stop him from going. He felt helpless and weak because he had no idea where his younger brother was. He felt stupid and lazy because he could have looked more thoroughly. He _should have _looked more thoroughly. But I told him no. He'd done all he could.

"Butch is his own person. He's got to decide right now on whatever he does," I had murmured with a slight smile. He had looked ready to object, but then he looked up and met my eyes and his doubt disappeared.

"Okay."

The weeks began to pass again without any mention of the dark-haired Rowdyruff. Things seemed to be as normal as always, but I could tell that Brick still hadn't changed. He was still at war with himself.

Boomer always looked distant and sad when he was alone, and sometimes, he even looked like this with Bubbles around.

It was beginning to worry me. But the boys didn't worry me as much as Buttercup did. Especially when she came home on a bitterly cold and snowy January evening.

I was sitting on the couch, watching a stupid sit-come. Bubbles and Boomer were on the opposite side, cuddling. It was one of those nights when Brick said he was going to tutor some kid in math, but I knew that he was really out patrolling the town, hoping that Butch had stuck around after all and was really right under our noses.

What I didn't expect was for the front door to open and slam loudly. The professor was home, and so were Bubbles and I. I didn't expect Brick to come at all tonight. Boomer was already here. That left only one person, but it was way too early. Buttercup usually came home at around 11:00 PM on a good night and it was only 8:00.

I perked up and turned around, looking past the staircase to see the front door. My sister was standing there with dripping wet hair, and a smile on her face. She was looking right at me.

I stood up to go and meet her, cautious the entire way. What the hell? Buttercup had barely looked, much less SMILED, at me for more than three months…

"Hey, sister! What's up? Why are you home so early?" I asked, trying to be cheerful and not overly curious like I really was at this point in time.

Buttercup laughed uproariously, which earned her surprised glances from the couple on the couch as well as from me.

"I'm home… 'cause I feel like it!" She drawled. And then the stench hit me. I hadn't noticed it before.

"Buttercup, what have you been doing?" My voice resumed its old leader-like tone as my bubbly, cheerful one shuddered and died off.

"Jus' out with a bunch o' friends… the usual," She smiled dreamily.

"And what were you DOING with these friends?" I growled, though I had a very good idea.

She giggled and put her hands up in front of her face, "Would ya relax, sister dear? I was just having fun with Suzi, and Mi—"

"DRINKING?" I snarled. "Buttercup, what's wrong with you? Why have you been acting this way? You know drinking's bad, especially since you're in sports! I know Butch left but that doesn't mean…"

"It doesn't mean _anything," _Buttercup hissed, and that dazed look left her eyes. She must have only drank enough for a human to get wasted, and was now tapping into her abilities to fight off the buzz. "It never meant anything, alright? Would you quit with that shit?"

"What 'shit'? I haven't spoken to you in ages!" I fired back.

She glared at me. "Really? 'Cause the sympathetic smirks count as speaking to me in my book. Just because you have a romantic history with your counterpart doesn't mean I do with mine! And I'm freaking sick and tired of you looking at me like I just lost something because I _didn't. _If anything, I gained something! Freedom! Of you! Of him, and of his stupid awareness of me! He knew all sorts of shit about me that I didn't even know! And now I don't have to hear it! Or be afraid of what else he knows, because now he can't use it against me! I'm free of being responsible for this town! Because now I've got four other people to do that for me."

I stared at her, unsure of what to say. Finally, I mustered up the courage and the words. "What do you mean he 'knew stuff?'"

Boomer cleared his throat from over on the couch, and stood up.

"I'd better get home. Brick gets kind of emotional on… Wednesdays…" He muttered, and he glanced apologetically at Bubbles and then he floated out the door.

"Good," Buttercup muttered after the door closed. "That's another one gone. I just wish he'd stay gone. Stupid Rowdyruffs… I don't need Butch. I never did," She looked up at me pointedly, "And I wish you'd stop treating me like I did."

And before I could stop her, she whirled around and stomped up the stairs. Moments later, her door slammed shut.

I looked over at Bubbles, and her blue eyes were wide. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

I turned away and rubbed my temples, closing my eyes to try and calm down.

We were okay… just because Buttercup had decided to rebel ONCE didn't mean that anything bad was happening…

But by the sixth month of Butch's absence, I had to eat those words.

Because by now we were all falling apart. Brick had tried to kill himself after finding Boomer in the kitchen, slicing his arms up. Boomer had later tried to tell us that he couldn't remember Butch's voice, and so he thought that pain would help him remember… This left Boomer in the hospital, and Brick had to go to a therapist after school every day.

Bubbles cried herself to sleep every night over this. Buttercup and I fought at least twice a day, and it usually resulted in one of us leaving. Sometimes Buttercup even called the house drunk, asking for a ride home.

And because of ALL OF THIS I had daily stress-induced migraines.

It was then that I realized something.

Butch's absence wasn't just affecting the guys.

It was killing my sisters and I as well.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N**

**(For the most of you who don't read my annoying Author's Note, scroll down 'till you see the italicized font. It's the song I themed this chapter after, kind of. If you don't agree, comment on wht you think the song should have been ****)**

**Aloharg. That's hello in Hawaiian and Pirate mixed together :) I have some Hawaiian in me, but as for the pirate… uh… I dunno. Maybe Pirate Steve from Dodgeball knows if we're related…**

**Thanks so much to my reviewers, followers, and favoriters!**

**FKS: Aww! Yeah, I'd say that was probably the saddest chapter hehehe.**

**Vwvanlover: Yeah, poor everybody. Thanks for reading! :)**

**CheshirePhantom: I'm glad you like my story! Thank you for reading! **

**Its meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee: ):DDDDDDDD YES! Just kidding. Yeah, it's sad, hehehe.**

**Sey-ukftw: I like angst too :). Well… obviously. Hehe. Thanks for writing that story, by the way. I really liked it :)**

**xXduncanxloverXx: Hah! That's funny! Maybe you can jinx my updating somehow! Glad you're feeling the suspense. Thanks for reading!**

**Mew Pancake: I'm not spilling anything about when/if he is coming back :) Muahahaha. Thank you so much for reading!**

**Meli31295: Yeah, it's pretty sad, aint it? Thanks for reading!**

**Ppgrulz123: Haha. THE EMOTIONS! Yes :) Thanks for reading.**

**She-Pirates kick-BUTT: OOoooh that would be a cool superpower. Faking rabies. Hehehehehe. Butch will always be in our hearts :) Thanks for reading!**

**Ikuni Hattori: Hehe. Your review made this sound like a dramatic television series! Hah. Thanks so much for reading!**

**Clueless C: Yeah, he does have some explaining to do. /If/ he comes back. See what I did there? Not giving anything away. Haha. Thanks for reading!**

**The-writing-vampire: HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope you are having/had a good time with your brother! I'm glad you got my point on the time jump and thought that it was important. It seems like you know what's going on in my head a little **_**too **_**well. Hmm… :) Thanks for reading!**

**Glooberglag: Yes! Another cliffy! :) Glad you think the chapter was awesome, and thanks for reading!**

**TotallyPowerPuff: Aww thanks! It means a lot that you think that I have talent. Aww! Laundry and cleaning are important! At least you won't be dirty! Thanks for reading :)**

**Sutekina T o r a: You think I'm dramatic? O.o If only you knew me in real life, hehe. I'm exactly the opposite. Thanks for reading!**

**TheAlmightHachu: Yeah, I guess it's like losing your strength and anger for the boys, and then watching your boyfriend get all sad like that would probably make you sad, too… so I guess it would affect them like that. Well, at least I THINK so… Thanks for reading! :)**

**Animeskullgirl16: I'm glad you'd help track down Butch! That means a lot to him. Hah. Thanks for reading!**

**Chica: Yes, very intense :) You'll get your slight happiness, but it's kind of fake… in a way. Thanks for reading!**

**Saisix: I'm sorry you didn't like the last chapter, but I genuinely thank you for being honest and courteous about why. I understand that you were disappointed with the emotional turn it took, but I thought it was for the best, just to show how quickly things got out of control and how bad the boys took losing their third part, as well as how the boys' emotions affected their girlfriends as well. Emotion is a huge part in this story, and I wanted to remind everyone of that. Also, I did the time skip because it was a bigger shock-factor that Butch could leave for so long, and it also got more to the point. Last chapter was full of "emoness" yes, I get that, but if I hadn't have written it that way, it would have been a boring filler, and I wouldn't have been able to really dig into the characters. Once again, I thank you for giving me the constructive criticism, and thank you for reading :)**

**Shewolfgang: Ooh I have magic :) You have writers' magic, too, by the way. Hehe. Thanks for reading!**

**Sana96: Glad you think it was "the most intense chapter." I really tried to give it that fill. Thanks for reading!**

**Canzie: Yeah, it is getting sad, but I'm trying to make it addicting. Is it working? :) Thanks for reviewing!**

**Jenaca: Haha! Now I can imagine Butch actually doing that xD! Thank you so much for reviewing!**

**Raven52: Thanks for reading!:)**

**Wildone97: Thanks for having respect for me, it means a lot :) I hope you do end up submitting something for my contest! I'll be waiting :)**

**xSerenityIsn'tAlwaystheAnswerx: I'm sorry for giving you emotional issues… please don't go emo because of me! :K hehehe. Thanks for reading (and making me laugh with your reviews.)**

**Thaliahtill: Hopefully you're still sane… Sorry I haven't updated in so long. Haha. Thanks for reading!**

**Alexandera: Yes, I see what you did there, and you have both of those as well :) Hehe. Thank you for reading! Glad you think it's EPIC!**

**Fallenheather: He won't fill Buttercup's faces with kisses. Yet. If he does. But it's not the last chapter, promise :)**

**Pikalover10: I feel bad for 'em too :( Thanks for reading! :)**

**The-awesomeness12: I'm so so happy that you love this! Hehe. Thanks for reading!**

**Person: Aww thank you! I'm so glad you think this was good! And you'll be getting your wish about Butch's POV in this chapter :) Thanks for reading!**

**JadeTyga: Aww, I'm so sorry for your losses. May your family members rest in peace. I'm so glad you're a member, though! Lemme know when you get your first story up! I'll be the first to read it, hopefully! I love Butch to pieces too, and I'm glad you didn't expect he would leave! It WAS a challenge to fit all of that into one chapter O.o YAAAY! She's just drunk! Haha that made me laugh. :) I love your novel-like reviews, and thanks for reading! :)**

**Crazyrandomperson: Thanks! And, yes, this chapter is from Butch's POV. Thanks for reading! :)**

**Someone called ScourgeOTG: Thank you! I'm so happy that you think this is fantastic! And no, this isn't first-hand experience at all. Just an over-active imagination, and no life. Hehe. Thanks for reading! :)**

**STARszx: I'm glad you think this is awesome! And a happy new year and Merry Christmas to you, too. Thanks for reading! :)**

**Military brat USA (Love your username): I'm glad you love this story! And, I thank you, because I soooo do not have the patience to be an author, but it's cool that you think I could be! Thanks for reading!**

**Curlyswirl: So glad you think that it's believable! Thanks for your review!**

**Kaci: Updated! Thanks for reading! :)**

**Iiloveyouhhx3: YESS! Thanks for thinking it's amazing, and also for reading! :)**

**Faxlover0199: Yeah, it was pretty dramatic. Thanks for reading! :)**

**1000GreenSun: I'm glad you think this is good! Thanks for reading, also!**

**And also, thanks to: Ice WaterFire, Sana96, MysticalDecay, RolleRBiVi'sCAstle, Bubblycutie, ChelseaTheBlondie, the-awesomeness12, bebelurvsbishiess, JadeTyga, someone called ScourgeOTG, De.J.A .life, ButtercupluvsJACE, STARszx, L8R DAIZ, Kai2, Orange Glames- Jess Logan, military brat USA, balseirocharmed, iiloveyouhhx3, faxlover0199, charchar25, 1000GreenSun, and Sensula for favoriting and following.**

**So in other news, in the last chapter I basically got the same response. BUTTERCUP'S DRINKING? And poor Boomer and Brick!**

**I'd like to inform you, that in almost every other chapter, I will be switching from the other Ruffs and the Puffs situation, to Butch's situation. Meaning that in almost every other chapter, it will be written in Butch's point of view. This is a "yay!" for some and a "damn you and your stupid cliffhangers…" for others.**

**But, anyway, I'll find a way to get you to enjoy it ;)**

**Oh, and P.S…**

**I lied about Butch's dreams. The one at the Carnival? Yeah, that wasn't the last one. Muahahaha.**

**Song I think of when I write this: Glycerine by Bush**

_Couldn't love you more, you've got a beautiful taste._

_Don't let the days go by… could've been easier on you. I couldn't change though I wanted to. Should've been easier by three, our old friend fear and you and me._

_Glycerine._

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls. Nor do I own the song Glycerine by Bush. I don't own a piggybank either…**

**Chapter 25**

(Butch POV)

"Damn this stupid school and its student body. I hope they all look like they're 70 when they're 20 and they gain 300 pounds when they drop out of High School before graduation…" She muttered, trying to tie the tan colored water balloon shut with freezing hands.

I laughed and glanced over at her from where I was keeping watch. "Jeez, girl, tell me how you really feel!"

"That's not even the start of it," She nearly had the knot secure, but her finger slipped and the balloon dropped out of her hands. She caught it before it could hit the floor and pop, making a big noise, which would alert any bystanders. In catching the balloon, she made the liquid inside ooze out and onto the ground. "Crud…"

I laughed and slung my backpack off of my shoulder and let it slump against the ground. I bent down, being alert of our surroundings at the same time, and unzipped my backpack. I brought out the carton of soiled buttermilk seconds later.

"That's why I brought extra," I whispered as I set it down next to her where she was still kneeling on the ground. This gave the whisper a spot right next to her ear, which made me feel like some romantic slob.

"My hero," She grunted, and she picked the carton, scanning across the backside. She grinned up at me when she found what she was looking for. "Expired November 12th of 2005. Where do you get this stuff?"

I smirked proudly. "I've got my sources."

"Whatever, Grocery boy."

"Hey, I'm not gonna resort to stealing again, alright? And I'm a _bagger_ thank you very much," I growled.

"Like I said," She muttered, standing up with the now-empty balloon and the carton full of soiled buttermilk, "Whatever."

God I just wanted to… kiss her. Yeah. She was more irresistible to me when she was being her kind of harsh, brutally honest self.

I gave her a smirk and diverted my attention from her again, focusing back on the hall and the task at hand.

Excitement coursed through me. I loved pranks, especially when I pulled them with her.

I was so busy on concentrating on the halls, I missed her comment.

"Hey, _dude!"_

My head snapped around so I could look her head-on. "Yeah? What?"

"I asked you, why did you get buttermilk and not normal, good ol' regular milk?" She hissed, finally able to tie the knot at the end of the balloon. She gave it a satisfied smirk and her green eyes lit up.

"I thought I was making a funny," She looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "You know… Butter_milk, _Butter_cup."_

"You're so lame, Butch, you know that?" She scoffed and began to dig in her pockets for the next part of the prank.

"That's why you love me!" I said in a sing-song voice, and I wiggled my eyebrows. This resulted in her rolling her eyes.

"Whatever. Let's just get back to business. The period ends in like, three minutes," She muttered, and took her hand out of her pocket, finally finding the object she had been looking for.

"You ready, Sunshine?" I asked, and she gave me a pointed look. "Alright, alright! Just thought I'd ask!"

She rolled her green eyes again and pushed her black hair behind her shoulders. For the umpteenth time that day I observed what she was wearing.

Since it was April in Townsville, the weather was warm. She usually liked to wear just skinny jeans, some form of street shoe, and some graphic T-shirt that expressed how she was feeling that morning.

Today Blossom had dared her to put on a pair of plaid green short shorts (they looked freaking awesome on her) and Buttercup, unable to resist a dare, had worn them. She was also wearing green converse and a black T-shirt with a skull on it. Instead of her normal straight black hair with the bangs swept in her face (I hated that 'cause I couldn't see her pretty eyes…) she had curled her hair in soft ringlets and pinned the bangs back. Courtesy of Bubbles, might I add?

I just have to tell you, when I saw her that morning, I had to use all of my will power not to drool.

She seemed to notice my staring and gave me a dirty look. "What're you looking at?"

"Just an angel, Sunshine." I murmured dreamily. She slugged me in the arm and stomped out into the hall.

"Come on, Pretty Boy."

I followed her around the corner and into the hall. We walked the ten necessary steps it took to get to the door of our last class of the day, which we shared with my two brothers and her two sisters: Health. We figured since we were perverted enough, we could skip the human anatomy for a day or two… which was why we were ditching the class now.

Buttercup pressed up against the wall on the right side of the door, so as not to be seen by our target who happened to sit in the back of the class by the exit. She balanced her buttermilk-filled balloon in her hands and bounced it up and down a few times, looking a bit scared for once.

I looked up at the clock that was placed precariously above the door for all to see, and realized with much dismay that we didn't have as much time as I'd thought.

"Come on, Sunshine. We've got three minutes to pull this off," I whispered urgently.

She gave me a dirty look. "I know. But we never got the stupid stool, which means you have to boost me up, which means you could look at my ass the whole time if you wanted!"

I pretended to be offended, and I placed my hand on my heart like it had just stopped with the horror of such a suggestion. "I—I would never! How could you think such a thing?"

Her glance changed from dirty, to pointed. I found myself surrendering. I wanted to at least pull off the prank before we got caught for ditching. We only had about a minute now.

I put my hand up; palm faced out, and said, "I, Butch Jojo, solemnly swear on my life that I will not stare at Buttercup Utonium's butt. Within the next five minutes."

"Butch!"

"That's the best you're gonna get! Come on, let's do this." I knelt, and I laced my fingers together, making a support for her foot. I looked up at her with a desperate look on my face, trying to be cute.

She rolled her eyes, but I caught the red tint in her cheeks. Without another word, she stepped into my fingers. I braced her leg with my shoulder and stood, making her waist level with the top of the door.

"Is that good enough?" I whispered, looking at my feet. I was avoiding looking up, because I would most likely come face to face with her butt.

"Yeah, it's fine," She replied, and she began to pin the balloon to the top of the door with some paperclips and a pushpin that she'd gotten out of her pocket.

But it was too late. We should've done it earlier and spent less time kissing in the janitor's closet.

The bell rang with a loud and long _t'wang! _And from where I was standing I saw the class get up and rush for the door.

"Dammit!" I cussed and I jumped back, causing Buttercup to go airborne for a second and then to land bridal style in my arms, the balloon still in her hands.

"Crud!" She yelled, and the door opened. Without much thought, Buttercup squeezed her eyes shut and threw the balloon.

In the chaos of the now-crowded halls, I heard the wet sound of the balloon bursting, and then there was a loud groan and a lot of laughter.

My eyes focused on who Buttercup had hit and I instantly started to wheeze with laughter. She opened up her eyes and looked up at me, since I was still holding her.

"Did I do it? Did I hit his head?" She demanded, her light green eyes wide. I shook my head, my smile huge on my face.

"No," I laughed, "Better."

Buttercup turned to see Brick, my older brother, looking down at himself in disgust. Her expired-buttermilk-filled balloon had hit him directly in the crotch and had exploded, leaving trails of curdy white buttermilk all over his pants.

Buttercup erupted in laughter and she jumped out of my arms in order to double over correctly.

Everyone was looking now, and Brick's face was as red as his hair. Blossom appeared behind him, shook her head with a little giggle and took his hand to lead him to the boys' bathroom.

Everyone pointed and laughed as Brick trailed down the hall after Blossom, and the laughter continued even after they disappeared around the corner.

Buttercup turned to me, a huge and gorgeous smile on her face. "That was aweso—" She began to say, but I didn't let her finish.

I grabbed her hand and yanked her toward me. She landed with an _oof! _against my chest and looked up at me dangerously.

"Don't even—" I pressed my lips so hard and hungrily to hers that she forgot what she was going to say and instead found herself tangling her fingers in my slightly long hair.

After about two seconds though, she seemed to remember where we were. It was either that or the "Ooooooh!" sound everyone made when they discovered that we had decided we were going to make out then and there.

"Butch!" She growled, and she slapped my arm. "We're still in school! You could get like, suspended for PDA!"

"Might as well get in trouble for something that didn't go wrong, like our little prank," I murmured raggedly, and went in for another kiss, but I was yanked back.

"Butch Jojo, Principal Lang's office, now!" Mr. Lambert, the art teacher, had come out to see what the commotion was, just in time to see me sucking face with my girlfriend.

"Okay," I said, smiling glamorously. He grabbed me by the back of my army green T-shirt and shoved me forward. Buttercup stood by, watching with annoyance. "I'll call you later," I mouthed, and made the phone sign next to my ear.

She smiled and shook her head in exasperation as another loud and annoying sound entered my dream. This time it didn't fade off, like the bell had.

I woke with a start and slammed my hand down on the digital alarm clock on the table beside my bed. The sound diminished immediately.

I took air in and exhaled in a long huff. I sat up in the bed, running my fingers through my hair, and no doubt messing it up even more than it had been from the night before.

I glanced over at the clock I had just silenced to see that it was 5:00 AM. Stupid alarm… the damn thing always malfunctioned and woke me up hours earlier than I had set it for.

I had the urge to lie down again and lose myself in blackness, but then I realized that the people I had left behind six months ago would probably haunt my dreams. I didn't need to increase the pain of that ache in my chest—the one I would never admit to myself that I had.

Instead I flipped the blanket off of the hotel bed, swung my legs off the side, and stood. I yawned hugely and spread my arms out in a long stretch, looking around my hotel room.

It was small, with dark amber colored walls and almost cheap, brown carpet. A small bathroom and sink were on the right by the door, and there were a few little tables and a little dresser on which I had flung my stuff about. Simple, I noted, but it was pretty good for a guy that had gotten all of his money by pick pocketing for six months.

Then I realized something. I hadn't been alone in the bed. A woman, looking to be about 25 years old, had been in bed next to me. Her dark hair was nearly perfect as it cascaded down her back, and her skin was tanned almost to the point where it was kind of obnoxious. I smiled to myself, but then I frowned.

Almost as if on queue, the woman sat up in bed and looked up at me with tired eyes. She patted the spot beside her, where I had just been sitting, motioning me to lie down beside her again.

"Come back to bed," She begged, her voice slurred by sleepiness, yet still very seductive. Stupid whore. The streets of the small Colorado town that I was currently located in were crawling with them. Then again, the other six places I'd gone had had women all over the street with alcohol on their breath and no brains in their head, too.

I hadn't been using them for _you know what_, hell no! I'd just kind of used them as a reminder to myself that there were better things out there. Inviting them to bars—where I never drank anything—or kissing their hand and making googly-eyes at them. It made me remember that I was still a cold-hearted villain. Why? I don't know. Maybe I didn't have it in me to find a girl that was actually smart and wanted an actual relationship and not just the kicks that came with it. Maybe I didn't have it in me to break her heart when I left to wander the country again, looking for a new place to live for the month. I quickly pushed that out of my mind. I was still a villain. I would always be one, and that was why I had left my brothers.

But then again, I had realized a while back that all the girls I had taken out had either had green eyes or black hair. Never both.

I shook my head with a sly grin, meeting her dark brown eyes. "Sorry. I've gotta go," I said.

She lay down again and snuggled her face into the pillow, trying to lure me back in. It wasn't working, but she was such an obvious airhead she didn't figure it out. "No you don't. Stay with me."

I laughed darkly and walked over to her side of the bed. She smiled up at me hysterically, her eyes widening as adrenaline began to pump through her body. She rose and grabbed my face, trying to pull my lips to hers, but I pulled back in disgust, using a little superhuman strength. She looked confused, but she quickly got the point when I grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her out of bed and onto her feet.

"Hey!" She protested weakly, but she didn't fight back as I pushed her over to the door, opened it, and nudged her out. "Don't you… _want _it?"

"Nope," I scoffed, planning to use the line that got all of these sluts off of you because apparently my kind wasn't as 'irresistible' as older men, "I'm still a minor."

Her face quickly changed from the stupid seductive look to one of pure horror.

"What?" She screeched as I slammed the door in her face.

I'd just been a complete asshole to a lady I didn't even know the name of. I smiled to myself.

Yeah. I still had the evil in me, and the taste for it too. Pride surged through my core and I had the strong urge to fist pound and yell, "Yes!" but then something inside of me stirred again.

There came the familiar ache in my chest, and suddenly, I didn't feel so awesome anymore.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N**

***Peeks out from behind rather intimidating body guard* **

**Hi… I've been gone for quite some time, haven't I? PLEASE DON'T HURT ME! I will try to post a new chapter at least once every week, but no promises. My Algebra-II class is picking up a lot in the "obnoxiously large load of homework" area. Just be patient with me…**

**On a lighter note, I'd like to say that I have chosen the contest winner and the name of that person will be announced sometime in this chapter. I'm going to make YOU guys figure out where, though. (I'm trying to be creatively annoying :D)**

**Alright, so no review-replies in this chapter, I'm sorry! I'd just kind of like to go on with it and get this up as soon as possible. I'll reply to reviews in the next chapter.**

**And also, thanks so much to those of you who have reviewed, favorite-d and followed! It's all of you who keep me going, and make me feel guilty when I abandon this thing for a few weeks…**

**The song for this chapter is: My Own Worst Enemy**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls, a toaster oven, (however I do own a TOASTER) the song "My Own Worst Enemy" or the band "Lit."**

**Have fun reading :)**

Chapter 26

(Buttercup's POV)

I left exactly one minute before the bell rang, just to piss of my math teacher.

It worked, too. I didn't need to look at him to see the disgust on his pale and pudgy face. He couldn't stop me. I'd been doing this for the past eight months, and no matter what he tried to do to make me sit back in my chair for the remaining _one _minute of the period, I would always manage to get away.

It was all right to miss that last minute, I figured. I was passing, but just barely, just to make Blossom irritated.

I smirked to myself at that. She could irk me, but I could irk her even more.

_Take that, bitch._

The bell rang just as I got to my locker. I began to put my math book away and got out my science book, even though I had Spanish next period. I did it just to piss off my teacher. It seemed like everything I did was for the sole purpose of making someone angry.

Whatever.

I fixed my smudged eyeliner in the mirror on my locker door, and then I closed it, revealing a person leaning against the wall of lockers right beside me.

"He-ey," She said, and I could tell that she was already a bit tipsy. The smell of cigarette was coming off of her clothes in heavy waves that almost made me gag, although I was used to the scent already.

I pushed away part of my horrible mood and opened my mind up to reach the parts of my mind that made me an ignorant stoner, the type of person that I had become.

"Heya," I said, and smirked over at the person who had joined me. Her name was Stephanie, and I just hung out with her to, once again, piss my family off. She wore see-through white T-shirts with black push-up bras, torn jeans, and had a lot of piercings. Some on her face, some in other places… She also constantly smelled like different types of alcohol and nicotine. I was just using her, because I didn't like her at all. I almost felt bad sometimes.

While I hung with her and our other "friends", I hadn't changed at all. I still wore my skinny jeans and dark clothes, was still piercing-free, and had decided not to smoke. Drinking was another thing, though.

Due to my superhero metabolism, alcohol couldn't stay in my system for more than a few minutes. I mostly just acted drunk and consumed enough to be believable.

So, basically, I was considered a stoner now. Go me.

"The gang and me are gonna skip the rest of the day and go get some drinks," Stephanie drawled, "You in?"

I yawned in a bored-manner. "It's after lunch. I'd expect you to make this offer after first period."

She shrugged. "We were preoccupied. They were having a graffiti party by the dumpster."

"Oh yeah." I remembered now. I'd smartly made up an excuse not to go to that. I would destroy my own body, but not public property.

"So, you in? We're leaving now in Evans' car," She explained, and excitement filled her heavily black-lined gray eyes. Evans' car was nice in her book. A 4-door Ford Pickup Truck. Whoopee.

I glanced around me suddenly, feeling like I was being watched. I spotted the source of such feelings near the teacher's restrooms farther up the hall. Blossom was watching me carefully, her rose-colored eyes locked on mine. I smirked at her and she stiffened as I turned to face Stephanie again.

"Yeah, I'll go," I said, and Stephanie smiled. She grabbed my arm and yanked me forward and into the crowd of students. It was like an ocean. The crowd surged and then receded as people moved. It was "The Way of The Ditch," my stoner friends called it. To get lost in the crowd until you got to the door, and then make a run for it. There were so many kids, it was possible to escape unnoticed.

We did just that, letting the crowd push us toward the doors until we were outside and running toward the student parking lot. I saw our small group huddled next to Evan's dusty white Ford and hurried toward them.

There were three others beside Stephanie and I. There was Evan of course: a blonde kid with so much hair that no one was ever sure of the color of his eyes that wore clothes that were two sizes too big. Next there was Yvette, a slutty Asian with blonde-dyed hair who wore too much blue eye shadow over her brown eyes with clothes too tight for her pudgy little body and had a -2.0 GPA. Last but not least, was one of my childhood friends: Mitch Mitchelson. The guy hadn't changed, except for his height, build, and smell of course. He was roughly six feet tall, and was broad chested now. I won't torture the mind was specifics, so I'll just say that he smelled like bad things. I didn't consider him hot, cute maybe like I always had, but not hot. I pretended to, though. Once again, just to piss some people off.

"Hey guys!" Stephanie crowed, and she rushed into the group to envelope everyone in a huge hug.

After their own personal smells of grossness were combined, they turned to me.

"Well, come on, Buttercup! Don't you want to share the love?" Yvette called, smacking her lips together as she chewed on her gum.

"Nah, I'll pass. I'm savin' all my lovin' for the drink," I said in my fake tipsy-voice. I was getting to be a better actress the more I hung out with these losers.

"That's why we love ya!" Mitch joked, and walked the few steps that I had placed between us to hug me against my will. I pretended to like it, and smiled my best.

He was wearing his "Mitch Rocks" shirt—A tight black T-shirt with white magic marker splattering the words across the front. I hated that shirt.

"Well, what are we waiting for, kids? Let's go!" Evan chortled, and he opened the door and swung himself inside of the cab.

Stephanie and Yvette whooped and followed his lead, Stephanie running around the back to get shotgun and Yvette opening the back door to scoot all the way over to the other window to make room.

Mitch nudged me forward and I climbed up into the cab, shooting a flirtatious glance over my shoulder. When I was with them, I wasn't Buttercup. I was Britney, or something, I decided, the airheaded alcoholic.

As soon as Mitch closed the door we were backing out of the parking lot and heading towards one of our usual bars—the ones that didn't card their customers.

Evan turned up the radio and soon enough everyone but me was singing badly and out-of-tune to some song that I'd never heard before in my life.

Minutes later we pulled into a slightly-busy parking lot with a few little buildings: A salon, a coffee shop, and of course, the bar.

We got out of the car, one by one, and plopped down onto the pavement. As we headed toward the bar, Mitch wrapped his arm around my waist. It was a familiar gesture, he did it all the time, but it didn't feel right. It made me feel dirty.

As soon as we were inside, I made myself tune out my Buttercup-ness again. I was here to get drunk and have a good time, not to drown myself in the past. Not that I had any reason to do that, of course. I didn't care about _that _guy. Why should I?

It was dark and smelled of cigarettes and alcohol, and it was louder than it should have been for a bar open on a Wednesday at 1:00 PM. We walked over to the bar and each took a seat on the barstools. All except for Mitch of course, who decided stand behind me and wrap his arms around my torso. There was no affection in it, I didn't think. It was all just a show of stoner-dominance.

Everyone ordered his or her different drinks, and asked me what I wanted. I shrugged.

"Just give me whatever Mitch is having, I guess," I muttered, "I just want a good buzz."

The bartender gave me a creepy smile and passed me a bottle of something. It was already opened, and the Buttercup part of me wanted to question this situation, but I pushed those thoughts away.

I examined the label, but couldn't read the name of the beer. It was something foreign. I shrugged again and downed it, wiping my mouth as I slammed the empty bottle down on the counter.

At first, when I had decided to become this new Buttercup, I had been trying to get drunk to drown out the happiness of my sisters, and the past that they wouldn't let me forget. Now I was just doing it to spite them, to worry them.

"Gimme another one," I commanded groggily. The bartender gave me another creepy smile, fixed his cracked glasses, and passed me another drink.

As I downed my fourth beer, I realized that Yvette, who was sitting beside me, was staring at her bottle in confusion.

"What?" I demanded, "Not strong enough for you? Gimme it."

She shook her head and continued to stare at it. "How many calories has this got in it?" She muttered, squinting hard, "Does that say… isieiy-iuikifitiw? Is that the bar code or whatever?"

"…What?" Evan muttered, and from the look of his glassy eyes I could tell that he had already downed as many beers as I had.

I shook my head, reached over, yanked the bottle out of Yvette's hand, and chugged it myself.

She muttered something unintelligible at me, and ordered a different drink.

While drinking my twelfth beer I was aware that Mitch had suddenly disappeared. It was now that I realized also that my mind was getting fuzzy. The alcohol in my system hadn't been flushed out yet, and for the next three or so minutes I would be as drunk as I would ever get.

I turned around, squinting in the dark of the room, and I spotted him. He was trying to get to the men's room, beer in hand, but some chick had cut him off and was trying to flirt with him.

By now I had lost all Buttercup-sense. As far as I was concerned, under the influence of alcohol, Mitch was my man. And this whore was trying to get at him.

I got up, shoved myself away from the bar, and stalked over.

As I approached I growled, "What's going on here?" And then I clung to Mitch's waist, wrapping my arms around him from the side.

The chick was very short, and probably weighed about 500 pounds. She was disgusting in her maroon-colored tank top. That was all I could register in that drunken state of mind.

"It's alright, babe, go sit down," Mitch tried to soothe, catching on to the silly note in my voice and realizing that I was drunk.

"No, it's not alright. What do you want with him, bitch?" I slurred, pointing my chin out at the girl.

"What is he, your property?" She fired back. Her voice was deeper than… someone's. I distinctly remembered that the guy had green eyes, and a voice deeper than most…

"What do you care? Move along now, tubby."

Without any warning, big girl reached out and tugged me out of Mitch's arms. She shoved me into the men's restroom.

I was numb and couldn't control my actions. I leaped out of the men's bathroom, so dumb I wasn't able to be grateful that no one had been in there, and stormed towards her to punch her face in.

She beat me to that, of course. With the alcohol still in my system, I couldn't fight back. My powers were disabled at this point in time.

One moment I had my arm pulled back, aimed and ready to go, and the next I was on the floor, distinctly aware of the pain in my face.

Mitch was standing above me, saying something, and I couldn't hear him.

After a few moments of that, I blacked out.

**A/N**

**Another cliffhanger, don't ya love me? **

**Anyway, the winner of the contest WAS announced. I'll give you a hint on where to find it…**

**You were probably like: "…What?" When you read it. Take out all of the I's and you'll get the username of the winner.**

**Have fun trying to figure that out. I might need to literally announce the winner in the next chapter haha.**

**Thanks for reading, and please review!**

**~Mars**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N**

**Hi... I'm SO sorry that it's been so long! So, as an apology, this chapter is going to be well-thought-out, and hopefully awesome. A lot of plot twists, and, of course, a cliffhanger!**

**So, enjoy.**

**Also, thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed and followed or made this story a favorite.**

**: Look, an update! I hope I didn't disappoint :D Hahaha, I'm kind of GLAD you died a little inside when you saw that you'd won. Congrats, by the way. What would you like as your prize? :)**

**Sensula: Ahaha :)**

**wildone97: I did! It was really good :) Lucky, you had no school! (Although you probably don't remember because your review was sent on like... February 2nd...)**

**Andie143lovesanime: I updated! :D**

**xSerenityIsn'tAlwaysTheAnswerx: I was being a procrastinator :(( I'm sorry... But I'm back now! :D**

**Person: Ehh... Sorry, I didn't meet my "next week" deadline... it ended up being close to two months... Dreadfully sorry :( Thanks for the smart cookie compliment. Haha, I lost all other ideas and decided that it being on the back of a bottle would be believable :)**

**longlivelove: Yes it is, goob job! Haha :)**

**meli31295: Yes, I'm back! Here's the next chapter :)**

**ppgrulz123: Your entry was great! Seriously! :) But yeah, she shouldn't, which was why I made her a poser druggy for a couple of chapters. She did it out of spite, so that KIND OF sounds like her, right? :)**

**powerpuffan28: Thanks, I'm glad you think so! And yes, it was sey-ukfw. I'll look at the video right now! I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to look at it when you posted the review D:**

**MusicFanBanana xD: Yeah, a 500-lb chick and Butch. Very classy :P Glad you're gonna make an account on fanfiction! And, not to give anything away but... that Butch/Mitch fight MIGHT just happen :)**

**88: WOOT! 30STM rules! :D**

**ThaliahTill: Butch MIGHT be in this chapter... however, it IS BC'S POV *creepy smile***

**TheAlmightyHachu: There's another cliffhanger here, too. It's so addicting, I'm sorry!**

**Alexandera: I'm sorry for my late, late, late updates! I need to get better about it... meh D: Toasters are awesome! :D Thanks for reading :)**

**Loveable Anime-Cartoon: Thanks! :)**

**ppgz and rrbz lover: Aww, thank you! Your compliments make me all giddy inside! And thank you for the suggestions, I really appreciate them, but I'm a paranoid freak and I always plan out every chapter of every story before I actually write it so I don't get writers block. Because writers block SUCKS. But thanks for reading and suggesting things and reviewing! :)**

**greenskatergurl: THANK YOU!**

**Curlyswirl: I thought Buttercup would fake being a stoner, too! So glad you got where I was going! Thanks for reading:)**

**laurenv20: You're like, the only person who actually LIKES my cliffhangers! :D Thanks for reading, by the way! :)**

**BubblesHere1: SQUEAL! I'm so glad you like this! Don't be afraid to sound stupid, I sound stupid all the time :P Here's an update, and thanks so much for reading!**

**BrickxBlossom: Here's an update! I'm so sorry that it took so long!**

**military brat USA: Everything is up with the cliffhangers, I love 'em so much! Aww, thanks :)**

**dejiko001: Ahahahahah! ButchxBC fangirls are the bomb! I'm one myself :P Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! :)**

**TomboyIsAwesome: Here's another chapter! I'm so sorry that it took so long!**

**: Thanks! :D**

**xXB-A-C-O-N Spells LOVEXx: Thank you! And you sound awesome if your fave band is 30 Seconds to Mars haha :) Thanks for reading! :)**

**xXDuncanxLoverXx: Punching a girl in the face? Oh my, you sound like Buttercup! Hahaha I actually smiled when I heard you "stalked" the one-shots. That's pretty cool, actually. Be proud! And thanks so much for reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

Chapter 27

(Buttercup POV)

I knew I was dreaming immediately, and there were three reasons for this.

One: Everything was hazy and I couldn't focus on one thing for long, like dreams often are.

Two: I was thinking heavily about Mitch and felt woozy, side-effects from being drunk that had apparently leaked into my subconscious.

Three: I was holding a pistol, and I was standing in a clearing in a forest. I was a Powerpuff Girl, and I had superpowers. I'd never needed to use-or learn how to use-one.

But, for some reason, I felt like I really needed to use that pistol.

My mind briefly allowed me to survey the area, looking for something that seemed logical to aim at.

Further inspection led me to find that the forest had tall, spindly pines, damp, dark brown dirt underfoot, and lots of space between the trees. Three root beer cans were set upright and were placed in a larger space, allowing room for bullets and cans to fly.

Unsure of what to do, but suddenly feeling very cocky, I cocked the pistol. I'd seen enough movies, I was sure that I knew at least the basics of shooting. Cock, aim, fire, right?

I aimed the gun in the direction of the middle can and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened. I couldn't even _move _the trigger!

"Ah, what the hell?" I muttered, pulling it towards me and tilting it to the right, ready to bang on the back of it to make it work.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!" Came a sudden objection from behind me. It nearly made me jump out of my own skin.

I tried to turn around to confront whoever it was, but couldn't due to the dreamy haze that was my mind. Since I couldn't do that, I tried to talk, but found that I could no longer do that, either. Great.

While I had been busy dealing with my dream-induced dumbness, the one that had talked had walked up behind me. I had barely heard his footsteps as they came close to me, but I realized that they were carefully placed, heavy, and quick. They were like this because I was doing something wrong and he was coming to correct me. I hated being corrected.

In response to this, I tensed up, my back straightening rigidly. I tried to speak again, to object. Nope, just kidding. My vocal chords had been teasing me again. I wasn't allowed to talk anymore.

A scowl on my face, I waited for his information to be thrust into my face of how I was wrong.

Instead, I was strangely surprised.

Instead of walking in front of me to face me, he stepped up right behind me and stretched his arms out so that they were on top of mine as I held the gun. He was leaning his head on my shoulder, our faces right next to each other, parallel.

My neck refused to turn so I could see him. Stupid dream.

"Here, I'll show you again," He said, but gently, his breath tickling my cheek. He kept his head on my shoulder as he delicately moved my hands, placing both of my thumbs on the left side of the pistol, resting on each other, and squeezing my fingers so that they had a firmer grip on the weapon.

"Stretch your arms out," He commanded, but it wasn't even really a command. More like a sweet suggestion. I did as he said, and then he unattached himself from me. I felt immediate disappointment, and realized then that I'd been wanting him to do something else, something more intimate. I'd wanted him to kiss me.

I tried to shake the thoughts out of my head. Sure, this guy was being nice and kind of tender to me, and I appreciated it, but I'd known him for about two minutes. Or so I thought. Stupid dream and its' non-clarity...

Non-clarity. That was it. I was still drunk. I was dreaming about Mitch.

"Good," He murmured, stepping over to my left. I realized he wasn't done adjusting my posture yet. He delicately put a hand on my stomach, and one on the small of my back, lightly straightening me out. "Stand shoulder length apart."

I did, and was rewarded with another, "Good."

He stepped away to assess how I was standing again, and I was hit with insecurity. It wasn't the dream-me that was feeling this, it was me-me. I had no idea what I was wearing, if I looked decent, or even of the look on my face right now. I also had no idea what in the _hell _I was doing now.

Almost as if he knew what I was thinking, he chuckled softly. "Do you want help shooting?"

I noticed how he said _want_ and not _need. _It was exactly what I wanted to hear. He wasn't belittling me, and he wasn't implying that I needed something that I couldn't provide to myself. It was like he knew me well enough to know how I worked. ...Did he?

"Sure," I said, slightly monotone, still tentative to accept, but feeling better about it since I was starting to like and trust him, and I didn't do that easily.

He moved behind me again, and I was surprised to find that I noticed different things about him this time because I had been expecting him. I noticed how he was careful where he put his arms, avoiding all of the spots that I didn't like to be touched. I noticed how he started breathing a little heavier, but fought to keep control. I noticed that he smelled good... so good... Wait. That wasn't right... was it? Did Mitch smell good or... Bad? I had no idea. I was too disorientated.

He proceeded to wrap his arms around me, in the same position as he had when he was adjusting my grip. He placed his hands on top of mine and flicked a tiny lever upwards.

At my sudden pause, he gave a little laugh, much louder now that it was right next to my ear. His voice seemed deeper up close... or maybe it was just the proximity of our bodies that lowered it. My drunk-dream-self sure hoped so.

"Safety switch," He gave the two word answer, "If you pull the trigger while it's on safety, it won't fire."

"Is it on safety now?" I asked, slightly curious.

"No. It's ready to fire," He murmured, humor in his voice. He thought I was being cute! I'd show him!

He exhaled and my neck tingled from where his breath touched it. Just kidding. No need to prove anything now, I was perfectly happy in this position.

Apparently sensing that I was comfortable, he lifted his head slightly so that his mouth was leaning on my head near my eyebrow. I could feel his lips, his breath, even the slight wetness of his tongue as he passed it over his mouth. My stomach flipped over. I'd never felt like this before.

And it was Mitch. Oh, yes. I was definitely drunk still.

He moved our pointer fingers so that they were resting on the trigger. "Alright," He breathed, "I'm going to count to three, and once I get to three, we're going to exhale, and then we're going to slowly and smoothly press the trigger, okay?"

"Okay."

He licked his lips again. My arms trembled.

"One..." He began, and he moved the gun slightly upward. _One, _I counted in my head.

"Two..." I bit my lip.

"Three." We exhaled together in unison, and at the end of the breath, our fingers pulled the trigger steadily.

The pistol fired, recoiling a bit. I snapped back in alarm and barrelled right into his chest. It was like hitting a muscular, warm, brick wall. He didn't move at all, and used his body to steady me again. As soon as that was over, I heard a sharp, tin sound. We had hit the can in the middle, and it had flipped up into the air, a hole straight through its' middle.

Shock pulsed through me, then excitement. "We did it!" I cheered.

He smiled, and I felt the muscles in his cheeks as his lips turned up. It sent chills down my back.

"Naw, you did it. I just supervised."

I wanted to do it again. I wanted to feel that happy, addicting feeling that the recoil of the gun gave me.

"Can I be done?"

Wait... what? No! I didn't want to stop-

"Yeah, you've been shooting for about 20 minutes. I guess this is a good stopping point," He compromised.

"What are we going to do now, then?" I asked, flirtatiously. If I would have been outside of my body in that moment, I would have punched myself in the face. How stupid was I? I sounded like the air-headed half-wit girls at my school who would open their legs for anyone.

He untangled our hands from the gun, after my unheard protest, after setting it back to safety, and pointed it at the ground, bringing it to himself to unload it.

My body was allowed to turn, but I couldn't look at his face. I could only stare at his hands. He let the magazine of the gun slide down into his right palm and placed both the gun and its' part into a little case on the ground, checking to make sure nothing was warped or misshapen on either part of the weapon. Once he was confident with that, he closed the case and latched it, moving it to the side.

"Um... what do you want to do?" He asked, standing up. He was wearing green cargo pants, and a black T-shirt. He was bulky and muscular, and I'd calculated a few minutes ago that he was about a head and a half taller than me.

I turned around, surveying our progress with the cans. I hadn't noticed until now that there were other holes in them.

While my eyes searched over him, and the clearing, I hadn't realized that he was coming closer to me. Suddenly his arms were around me, locking together. I reached up instinctively, gripping both arms in my hands. We rocked from side to side, slowly, and he leaned down to plant small, tender kisses on the top of my head.

My body felt like it was on fire. I'd never known that something like this could feel so good before now...

"This is good... this is nice," I managed, my throat feeling tight.

He turned me around, and it was slow and fast at the same time. He rested his hands gently on my shoulders, and I found myself looking up, at his lips. There was nothing special about them. In fact, they were thin lines, and there was a slash in his bottom lip. I had no idea where he had gotten it, but it was kind of cute...

I was coming closer to those lips, and I had no idea if it was because me-me wanted to, drunk-dream-me wanted to, or he wanted to. We came closer together until we were only inches apart, his forehead resting on mine. I still wasn't able to look up past his nose.

"I'll bet you that this is better," He murmured, and then, his lips were on mine.

I had never kissed anyone before, but from books and movies and watching other people, I had a good idea of where to go and what to do.

The kiss was tender at first, us touching lips for brief seconds, and coming apart, then going back in, but it soon heated up. After a matter of seconds we were fighting for dominance, but not with our tongues. He was a clean kisser. I liked that.

My hands curled into his hair and I tugged slightly, while his trailed down my sides to my hips.

After about three minutes of nothing but mouth, his lips moved down to my chin and he began to trace my jawline with his mouth, placing light kisses on my tingling skin as he went. I let out a moan of pleasure. I'd never moaned with pleasure before...

I could feel his eyelashes as he leaned into me. They were long and curled, and they tickled as he moved. I could feel them fluttering every once in a while.

He moved back up to my mouth and the kisses were long and tender, lasting what seemed like short moments but probably going for a long time. When the need for oxygen arose, we broke apart, and he cupped my face with his hands.

We panted heavily for a few seconds, and when I was ready to speak again, I said, "That was better."

"Yeah."

Finally, I was able to look up into his eyes. There were those dark eyelashes, blinking and shining as the sun hit them. His brows were thick and bushy, but were set on his face so perfectly...

Wait.

His eyes.

Mitch's eyes weren't green.

"Hey, Sunshine, are you alright?" He asked me.

Sunshine... No, I most definitely was not drunk. I would have forgotten him if I were drunk.

The world around me began to spin as my realization hit me at full force. I started breathing heavily again, fully in control of my body in this dream.

"Hey... Sunshine? Buttercup?"

I fell against him, shock, anger, wonder, and confusion floating through me.

"Buttercup!"

The voice jolted me out of sleep, and I didn't know whether to jump for joy or scream in fury because it wasn't Butch's.

My eyes fluttered open, the real world coming into focus. Two blurred figures were leaning over me, worry and anger etched on both. I would have rather stayed in my dream, even if it was with the guy that confused me the most... No, that wasn't it. I hated him, he didn't confuse me. I knew exactly how I felt about him.

"Buttercup!" Came the voice again. Blossom. She sounded pissed.

My eyesight finally focused and I sat up, rubbing my head as I realized that I had a throbbing headache.

She and Brick were hovering over me.

"Hey, Bloss," I croaked, the pain in my face returning to me. "Ah... my jaw. Where's Bubbles? And Boomer?"

"That's not important right now," She snapped, and I jumped despite the pain in my head. Ouch... Someones' a little pushier than usual...

Oh, God... She was going to chastise me about getting drunk...

And I had gotten in a fight! That was it. Mitch had taken me home, completely knocked out, with a broken jaw. They'd found out about everything. I was so screwed.

"Hey, Blossom, I'm sorr-"

"The city's under attack."

"What?"

"You heard me," Brick growled, "The city's under attack."

**I know, cliffhanger, and this stupid little author's note is ruining the suspense but... Have you ever noticed how many T's we use in the English language? Like, seriously, when I'm typing and I'm looking at the keyboard, I'm like... letters, letters, letters, T! Letters, T! Letters, T! Sorry, it was bugging me.**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N**

**Hi! Look, I updated within a week of my last update for the first time in FOREVER! Aren't you proud?**

**Anyway, you all wanted to bash my head in for that last cliffhanger… **

**And you're still not gonna get answers on that until the next chapter, because this is Butch's time to shine.**

**And, sadly, I'm soooo sorry for this… this is an extremely short chapter. But the faster I get this done, the faster the action and extreme drama can come. **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and made this story a favorite!**

**Meli31295: I'm so glad you liked the chapter! Yes, I'm back, and hopefully I can start updating every week :) Thanks for sticking with me!**

**JayJayBrownie: Thank you! **

**Andie143lovesanime: EEK! Thank you for reading and loving! I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!**

**KeroNya: Glad you think it was a good cliffhanger :D And I really should have made Bubbles more cold and distant… I just kind of found everyone's weaknesses, and made them a bit more drastic so that they interfered with their lives more than usual. Thanks so much for reading!**

**Animeskullgirl16: Thank you! And you will see what happens :P My intimidating bodyguard will make sure of it.**

**: Hey, I read from my IPod, too! :D Thanks! Dreams are my favorite to write because they don't have to make sense, haha. The prize does NOT have to be PPG related, I can write whatever as long as I actually read/watch the thing I'm writing about. EEEE! You like Young Justice? Dude, you're even cooler now! I'll totally write a Arty/KF/RA Fic for ya if you want. Just tell me jump and I'll ask, "How high?" :)**

**Awkward Pandaa-Bear: I'm so glad you loved it! And, look, I did hurry!**

**Vwvanlover: Hee-hee. Thank you for reading!**

**Ikuni Hattori: Cruel and unusual punishment is awesome :) Your review made me laugh, thank you for that. And thank you for reading! Unfortunately, this chapter will not be much clearer than the last. Yet another cliffhanger, I'm afraid. Thanks for sticking with me as I write! :D**

**Jenaca: It sure was Butch! Thanks for reading!**

**ChibixGiraffe: Glad I made ya happy! Thanks for readin'! :)**

**Faerie Illusion: Hmm… A certain green eyed boy just MIGHT be involved in this fight ;) Thanks for sticking with this story! :)**

**Puteriemily: Aww, I'm so happy that you love this story! I'll try to update as often as I can, but due to school, it's not as much as I'd like to. This story is almost done, but it's not over yet. Much more drama to come! :)**

**Alexandera: Hahaha! I love Spongebob! C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G Song!**

**Military brat USA: Glad you think it was awesome! They will admit their feelings… sometime soon :) Thanks for loving the story, and reading and reviewing!**

**Spiceypepper: Well, they are counterparts after all :) I guess he had them first because he's more close-minded than her? Or maybe I just thought he'd have a better reaction. I think that's it. They'll get together soon. I'm so glad that you like my story! Thanks for reading!**

**Twila Star: There are, right? T, T, T… Thanks for reading!**

**TheAlmightHachu: Don't count your chickens. I always have a cliffhanger up my sleeve. Maybe if I'm a pro-wrestler some day (Cuz that'll happen… NOT) my nickname should be "The Cliffhanger." It's catchy! Thanks for reading!**

**Shewolfgang: So glad you think it was awesome! They let you go on fanfiction in computer class? Luckyyyy… thanks for reading :)**

**Sana96: Awwww! Thank you so much! Your review like, touched my heart. Thank you for reading!**

**Ppgrulz123: O' course it wasn't Mitch! Good catch! Haha, thank you for reading!**

**Bubblycutie and Awesomenessdude: Yes, she is in love. She just doesn't know yet. ;)**

**Person: Hi there! Yes, we do use a lot of T's :) I thought it'd be appropriate for her to have a dream since Butch had one, and that it would make sense for her to not how to use weapons, since she kind of IS a weapon. Thanks for sticking with me! :)**

**Mew Pancake: Cliffhangers, yes :) Forgot to read? How could you? Just kidding :) Thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Cartoonlover03: Thank you!**

**Sharebearthedeathbear: Glad you enjoy reading the drama :P And thank you so much for reading!**

**xSerenityIsn'tAlwaystheAnswerx: My little evil story-elf told me to leave you hanging, that's who. Thanks for reading :)**

**xXduncanxloverXx: Thanks for the pure genius/insanely cute compliment, I thought it was really cute, too. I have voices in my head too… *shifty eyes* You'll see who's attacking the city, although it's not hard to guess. I'm sorry for leaving you hanging, and it makes my insides warm that you think this is the best Green story you've ever read, and I'm so proud of that! Haha, I hope your pants aren't ruined from your pee, then, I tried to hurry with this chapter, although it's rather short. Thanks for sticking with me!**

**CourageousKatie: Thank you for loving this and reading and reviewing! :)**

**JadeTyga: Haha, I have no idea who invented cliffhangers, but I'd tell you if I knew. And yes, T's are important enough to cut off a chapter :P Thank you for my bone-crushing hug! Psh, wow. I feel special for fool, tricking, and scaring you. I'll have to remember that… And yes, I did change my writing style. I'm a bit more sarcastic now, hehe. Glad you like it! Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

**The-writing-vampire: I have no idea how they're gonna REALLY kiss, but I'll figure that out. It MIGHT just be unexpected, so hopefully you'll be laughing your head off anyway ;) Thanks for reading!**

**Bubblesxboomer34: I'm trying my best to finish! Thank you for reading!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Google, Bing, Yahoo!, Apple, spinny-chairs, the Internet or the Powerpuff Girls. I wouldn't be here if I did. I'd be swimming in a giant pool shaped like the Mayor's pickle with actors I paid to act like teenage versions of this TV show. :)**

Chapter 28 (Wow. We're almost done.)

(Butch POV)

I'd never liked technology. It had always given me so much trouble. Like if I wanted to prank call someone, I always had to remember to press the 'Call' button. Why didn't the stupid thing just ring? And why didn't anyone just pick up the freaking phone? And those stupid answering machines were always so chipper and happy. I HATED IT.

'_Hello, you've reached Mary Sue's cell! I'm sorry I couldn't answer, I'm probably in a meeting, but please leave your name, number, and a brief message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! Have a nice—'_ Blah, Blah, Blah.

I let those thoughts about stupid, bright, happy people slide through my head as I sat in one of the librarys' non-spinny chairs (They'd had to take the one I was using away from me because I was having a little too much fun…) in front of one of their amazingly slow computers.

Waiting for the screen to load as it blanked and became white again, I drummed my fingers anxiously against the table and got lost in my thoughts again.

The reason for why I was here came to me again and everything washed over me, making me feel dizzy.

The dreams had continued to plague my sleep—What a shocker—and last nights' had been unusually peculiar.

Because I thought Buttercup would _know _how to shoot a gun. And that thought had led me here.

Because curiosity had gotten the better of me.

Because now I wanted to know what these dreams were. I wanted to know if they were premonitions of the future, my own desires played out in vivid detail in my mind, or even something that was stress-induced. Panic coursed through me again as I thought of the possibility that I could have a mental illness.

I pushed it away. People with super-powers were too advanced for stuff like that.

The sound of the annoying, happy voice from the 'you just won a free Apple IPhone' commercial on the now-loaded webpage snapped me out of my reverie and I scanned the page with dull eyes.

Did I mention that I'd been here for about two hours?

I scrolled down the page, reading over the types of freaky dreams a person could have. Most of this was completely unbelievable, but I figured anything even remotely related to my dreams would help.

One thing caught my eye on this umpteenth webpage: Premonitory dreams. The website gave the definition that it was being able to see what happened in the future. This was one of my suspicions, however it gave no help to my circumstances, seeing as it didn't describe any dreams that one could possibly have.

Giving a dejected sigh, I clicked out of the webpage. My mind had checked out of this activity about an hour and fifty-five minutes ago. It was time to leave.

But a little voice in the back of my head made me do one other thing while I had access to the Internet.

I felt dirty for doing it, but something in me was itching just to _see._

I first went to Google, deciding that it was better than Bing or Yahoo! Search.

I typed in Townsville News.

Pressing enter, I had to wait for the search engine to load—yet again.

My emotions began to make my stomach do somersaults. I pushed it away with an audible growl, realizing that my dreams had gotten to me more than I had thought. I felt nothing for Buttercup, _nothing._

But then why was I sure that these dreams were so real?

…And more importantly… why was I looking up her town, to make sure that she had been okay after I had left?

I ultimately chose not to think about it. Emotions were too complicated.

The webpage loaded, and I clicked on the first link—the town website.

And as it loaded I forced myself to focus on anything but my mood or thoughts. Seconds later I was perusing the top of the brightly colored screen, looking for the link that would lead me to the top or most recent news.

I clicked it, it turned blue, and the webpage continued to load.

This waiting period was really starting to piss me—

Everything froze.

Everything but the computer, and my heartbeat, because that was all I could hear as my blood rushed to my head.

There was a simple sentence and a picture plastered on the white monitor. That was all the incentive I needed to get me up out of my seat, and sprinting for the door—doing what I should have done eight months ago: the day after I got here.

I just hoped the librarian wouldn't mind that I'd left the window up with the words: "Townsville in a panic," the picture of parts of the city on fire, and a red haze glazing the sky that was much brighter than the flames.


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N**

'**Ello! **

**Look! TWO CHAPTERS in a row both posted at reasonable dates! Do I make you proud? =D**

**The length of the next few chapters might not be as consistent as I've tried to make all of the chapters in this story,(About 2,000 words) so please just be patient, because I'd like to put as much suspense in this story as I can.**

**And what's a suspenseful story without…**

**Bonbons! **

**No, just kidding. Cliffhangers.**

**Don't you love me?**

**Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and added this story to their favorites or alerts!**

**My love goes out to vwvanlover, , meli31295, Bubblycutie and Awesomenessdude, Andie143lovesanime, Awkward-PandaaBear, xXduncanxloverXx, wildone97, ppgruls123, PPGxRRB-luv, animeskullgirl16, IkuniHattori, military brat USA, person, faerie illusion, Twila star, mew pancake, canzie, kaci, the-writing-vampire, and Rockchic179.**

**Sorry I don't have time for replies, guys! I wanna get this out ASAP! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls.**

Chapter 29

(Buttercup POV)

I was on my feet immediately, recollecting everything I was supposed to do when the city was under attack that I had memorized as a child.

My blood pulsed through my veins at an almost painful rate and my heart thudded in my ears.

The number one thing was… right, assess the situation.

I looked around me frantically, probably appearing to be losing my mind, for the nearest window.

Brick was standing in the way of one, having backed away when I jumped up. I stumbled towards him and he moved out of the way. I saw him in the corner of my eye as he went up behind Blossom and comfortingly wrapped his arms around her.

It occurred to me then that she looked…scared. Something must really be wrong.

I turned to the window, prepared to find the worst-case scenario.

And the scene in front of my eyes was far worse than that.

The town was bathed in shadows, some parts had burst in to flames, and those small sections were the sole source of light, apart from the red haze that covered the sky.

The words were out of my mouth before my mind had really made the connection.

"Him."

Forgetting the "In-case-of-disaster" checklist in my mind, I immediately went on the offensive, letting my temper get the best of me.

I swung around and stalked toward Brick and Blossom. The pair stood there, Brick's head on top of hers, staring at me widely. Their position reminded me of my dream, and I reached up and singled out his shoulders, then shoved him away from my sister and I.

He staggered back, calm as ever, taking my blow with a composed face.

"This all you and your stupid brothers' faults!" I screamed, clenching my hands into fists. Then I turned to Blossom, starting to take deep, ragged breaths as I tried to channel my rage into my hands as I dug my fingernails into my palms. "Was it really worth it? Were _they _really worth the damage that He's probably doing to the city right now?"

Blossoms stood silent as well, her face almost an exact copy of her counterparts'. This made me even angrier.

"So you're both just going to sit here like helpless little puppies and not do anything about it, aren't you?" I demanded, the realization coming to my mind slowly, like water gradually filling up a river.

"If we show our faces, Him might double his wrath," Brick explained, "He _is_ angry at my brothers and I, and he's just destroying Townsville because he's suspicious of what we've done. He has no proof that we've done it, and when he gets that, he'll be even worse than he already is."

I rolled my eyes, exasperated. "Him can see freakin' _everything! _I'm pretty sure that he knows, Brick, and if you think that he doesn't, you're stupid. You're just making excuses so you won't have to put yourself in danger. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish _he _was here, because _he _would agree with me!"

"_He? _You mean Him?" Blossom asked innocently.

I scoffed. How could she be so stupid?

"Who's the only person that is almost exactly like me? Butch, you idiot. I wish Butch was here," I snarled before marching over to the window and staring out at the city again.

A car alarm was going off in the distance, and it was making my head throb. I messaged my temples, looking down at my feet and closing my eyes.

Was I the only one that was willing to still fight for this place?

Blossom and Brick were silent from behind me for a while, but after a few moments I heard heavy footsteps on the carpet as the male of the two came towards me.

I refused to look up at him, still messaging my temples with my eyes closed. I knew he was standing next to me. I could feel the familiar confident, intelligent aura about him that Blossom inhibited as well. He just stood there, and I knew he was looking out the window.

"Maybe if you want Butch, he wants you," He said suddenly, and this caused me to freeze.

"Is that honestly what you're thinking right now?" I snarled, opening my eyes and turning on him again, "The town is going to go to ruins and thousands of people are going to die if we don't do something, and you're seriously thinking about _love? _That's the reason why Him is even here! I can't believe you! Either of you!"

I needed to get out of the house, I needed to go somewhere to cool down. But if I left, there was a possibility that I would be cornered, possibly tortured, probably killed. Either that or I would go looking for trouble. The latter was more believable.

Then, a thought occurred to me.

"Where are Bubbles and Boomer?"


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N**

**Hi there! Look, it's been reasonably updated again!**

**I just have a little bit of time today, so I figured I'd ground this out. I hope it's satisfactory for you guys since it's a little bit more sweet than you're used to. This chapter's not too angsty, I promse. I thought a little break was needed.**

**Also, I have the next few chapters planned out pretty well, and I actually think that I'll be able to write them amazingly. I have written the epilogue already so I'll be able to remember how I'm going to end this thing.**

**Or at least, this story. I'm still thinking about that sequel. ;)**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, read, alerted, and made this story a favorite!**

**Faerie Illusion, Ikuni Hattori, Mew Pancake, Bubblycutie and Awesomnessdude, JadeTyga, puteriemily, meli31295, PPGxRRB-luv, STARszx, vwvanlover, hisoka-san, RheaTheCookieMonStar, BubblesHere1, Kaci, JayJayBrownie, Spiceypepper, Dynamite Girl, animeskullgirl16, xXduncanxloverXx, you guys ROCK! Your reviews make my day, and they put a smile on my face. You're all superheroes!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

**Inspiring song for this chapter: Black Hole Sun (Cover) by Versaemerge.**

Chapter 30

(Boomer POV)

The asphalt sidewalk of Main Street crumbled beneath my weight as I slammed into it. My back was probably battered and bruised because I'd been thrown into numerous hard surfaces throughout the past half hour.

With a groan I sat up, knowing what would await me. Without a doubt, he was there, one of his companions beside him. He reached out rather slowly, but I was too out-of-it to stop him. He picked me up by the collar, causing me to gag a little bit.

With a babbling laugh I was slammed into the brick wall of a tall building, and another moan escaped my lips.

"Boomer!" I heard Bubbles gasp from across the street where she was in a fight of her own. I wished I could be there to help her, but I wouldn't be of any assistance in my drugged state.

I'd been spending the night at the hospital again, having been gripped by another bout of depression, when a red mist started to spread through out the room.

I was sure I was hallucinating, remembering back to when Butch was around, but then I heard the laugh.

I knew that laugh, even though my head was fuzzy, I would never forget it.

Then he was _there_ by my bedside, and it was like a horrible, horrible nightmare. Because then, all I wanted was Bubbles. I wanted to be able to protect her and not sit here and be burned to death by the flames that He would probably send to engulf me.

"Ah, look at this," He said in that feminine voice, and I wanted so much just to jump up and strangle Him, although that was impossible. This _thing _wasn't mortal. "Have a bit of a fight with your brothers again?"

My body wouldn't move. Only my mind could process what was going on around me, my body having become sluggish because of the sleep-medicine that had been given to me.

"Go back to where you came from, you freak," I managed in a raspy voice, sounding very much unlike myself.

"Quite the contrary, my little son," He murmured, and I wished that I could flinch in response.

He reached out with a clawed hand and began to delicately caress my face. I wanted to jerk away and rip Him a new one, but I couldn't. I could just look up at Him through my drowsy blue eyes.

"What do you want?" I muttered irritably. He laughed, starting to comb through my hair, to make it more 'presentable' no doubt. I bet I looked like a complete mess.

"Oh, simple," He chattered, womanly voice reaching an even higher pitch than usual. He paused, moving His claw down to touch my feverish cheek again. The smug smile across His face slowly widened into a malicious grin, teeth becoming strangely sharp.

Suddenly, my face felt even more heated and a bright light erupted in my peripheral vision.

His claw was on fire, and He was pressing it into my skin.

He began to growl like an animal, and I heard His voice take on the occasional monstrous rumble as He snarled, "I want revenge."

My cheek began to sting, and as the pain really sunk into my system, the sleep medication began to drain out of my system; through my pores I was pretty sure.

I was guessing about three seconds had passed since He had started to burn my skin, but it hurt like _hell. _If I didn't go on the offensive soon, my face would be burned and scarred for life.

I moved both of my legs at the same time, covered by the white, pristine hospital sheet, and kicked Him square in the chest, throwing Him back against the hospital wall.

As soon as His body made contact with the plaster and wallpaper it started to burn, folding and crumpling and turning black.

I was off my back in an instant, standing on my feet and ready to fight Him. My face throbbed.

He stood up, features relaxed and smug.

"Silly child," He giggled, brushing dust and debris off of His dress-thing. "You stand no chance against me alone."

He thrust His claw in front of Him and I saw the air ripple. I was thrown back into the wall behind me, my head cracking against the hard surface. My skull was pounding even more now.

A strange sound filled the room, like the sound of a snake slithering, and then he was right beside me again.

His black eyes glittered like embers in a fire and he squatted slightly so He could look upon my face at a better level.

"This is quite ironic in a way," He mused, tousling the curled hair on His chin with a red claw, "I brought you to life… and now I'm sentencing you to death."

"Knock yourself out, bitch," I breathed, and His face contracted and twitched until it formed that scary demon-like grimace again.

I closed my eyes. I wouldn't have been much help anyway, spending my days in my own little world and feeling sorry for myself. I was changed now, though. Now all I cared about was _them. _My brothers, my girlfriend, her sisters… even this stupid down. Now all I wanted to do was stand up for what I believed in and protect those that couldn't fend for themselves.

But it was too late now. I'd always made the most stupid decisions.

The sound of flames breaking out filled my ears and continued to grow as His claws came closer to my face. This was it. Why had I chosen to go in the most painful way?

But then, there was a sound louder than the flames. A huge explosion, and then the sound of rocks shifting and being thrown around. I could only hear the latter of the two noises because the flames suddenly hindered.

"Don't touch him!" A voice screamed, and then, in less than a heartbeat, I was lifted off of my feet and thrust into the air, being carried by a pair of small arms.

I already knew who it was and what she as doing.

"Bubbles, how did you know?" I asked, eyes open, heartbeat slowing down gradually.

"I just did," She sighed, "Besides, the sky is red. I needed to check on you anyway."

I hadn't noticed until now that she was right. The sky _was _red.

"What'd he say to you?"

My head was still throbbing from my contact with the wall and his burning claw.

"He wants revenge, Bubbles. It's all our fault," I explained, but she didn't need to hear it, she seemed to already know.

"Boomer, we both knew this would happen. We knew they'd find out."

"Some part of me thinks that only Him knows. I don't think he told anyone else."

"That's good, then," She said with one of her breathtaking smiles, "Between all five of us, we can take him."

"But… Bubbles… He's a lot more powerful than he was last time," I muttered.

She seemed lost in thought for a few moments before I suddenly heard her take a deep intake of air. "Boomer! What happened to your—" She began, but she couldn't finish her sentence due to her unexpected need to scream.

Because we were falling through the air.

I managed to turn us around, hugging her to my chest with my back to the ground below us. I wanted to make due with my wish to stop feeling sorry for myself and start protecting people, her especially. After all, she was my miracle. Literally.

We hit the ground with a loud thud, creating a large crater and sending rocks and dust flying everywhere, hitting cars and causing alarms to go off.

She rolled off of me, rubbing her head grouchily, and then reaching out her hand to help me up.

She stared at my face, and I stared at hers. I couldn't help but notice the imperfections, as they were plain as daylight. Ashes were smudged on her chin and cheeks, dirt was encrusted on her forehead, and her lip was bleeding. She was still beautiful to me.

I reached out and cupped her face, rubbing some of the ash on her cheek around with a grim smile on my face.

"You saved my life back there, you know. In more than one way," I whispered.

She smiled a tight-lipped smile and looked down at her feet as I tentatively leaned my forehead against hers. It hurt. Immensely.

"Your cheek is burned," She muttered when she looked up at me again.

"I know. It hurts. A lot," And then I kissed her. It wasn't long, but it was sweet, and it was reassuring to both of us, and, while it was brief, it reawakened the feelings deep down inside of me. I'd been so consumed by the past that I couldn't focus on the present or the future. Now I wasn't as blinded. Because this girl—beautiful, sweet, and brilliant in every single way—was both my now and my later. I would never forget that for as long as I lived.

She suddenly pulled away, a lot sooner than I had wanted, and let out a sharp gasp against my lips. I turned instinctively, reaching out to wrap my arms around her waist and pull her close to me, protecting her from whatever had startled her.

She wasn't wrong to be afraid, because the sight made my heart beat a little faster as well. I knew immediately that this was what had made her fall. These strange creatures had shot a geyser of fire up into the sky, and she had to avoid it in order not to be burned to a crisp. I'd seen it out of the corner of my eye.

I knew that Him had created them because of their strange, vain uniformity. The tall, beanpole-y men made of fire seemed like something He would conjure up.

Bubbles, having the same thought apparently, voiced my previous fear. "You're right. He _has _gotten more powerful."

Almost as if that were some kind of codeword, the fire-men flew at us, sending us both off in different directions to separate and weaken us. My head was still throbbing, so everything seemed a bit blurry and too fast for me.

That was how I had ended up pinned against the wall by one of the things, grimacing and sweating under the heat and pain that they brought to me.

I heard Bubbles shout my name again and feelings of self-loathing and want pulsed through me. I needed to protect her, not sit here, pinned against the wall, my head being bashed into it several times over.

With a collective grunt I pushed my legs out, the same move I'd performed with Him, and forced the fire-man-thing away from me. It stumbled, but that was all that I needed.

I shot out from underneath him like a dart, making my way to Bubbles as fast as I could and using up all of my energy to do so.

She was in the midst of throwing a punch at one of the fire-men, her fist pink and raw from thrusting it in to so many of them.

I grabbed her around the waist and took off running, using as much super-human speed as I could.

"You're going to have to fly us," I panted as we got a little farther from them, but from the high-pitched screams from behind us, I knew that the things were going to give chase.

"Where are we going to go?" Bubbles demanded sadly.

I shook my head. "We have to go back to your house."

"But they'll destroy it!"

"They'd get there sooner or later anyway. Besides, we need backup, and there are too many of them," I explained, and she nodded.

We stopped and switched positions, and then she flew off into the air, making her way towards her house.

She dodged several more attempts of the fire-things trying to take her out of the air again; grimacing when a bit of fire grazed her shoes.

We were hovering above her house when another pillar of fire was aimed at her, this time hitting us both in the lower body. We plummeted toward the ground again, and I rolled over to take the brunt of the fall yet again.

This time, though, I felt something wet start to spurt from the back of my head and my vision was blurry.

Bubbles quickly got off of me, like she had last time and tried to haul me back up, but when she saw that I continued to lie there, I could tell, even in a daze, that she knew something was wrong. Especially by her worried tone.

"Boomer? Boomer, get up, come on!" She begged, grabbing at my hand. I accepted her help in sitting up, and simply sat there for a few minutes, extremely dizzy.

I reached around to the back of my head, and, sure enough, it was wet. I brought my hand to my face, shakily examining it. It was stained red, although it wasn't covered in the stuff.

I was shaking all over.

Wait.

It wasn't _me _that was shaking. The whole world was shaking.

The ground was quaking, and I could hear it far away as it cracked and spread apart, something growing from beneath it.

I knew what it was before I saw it. But that didn't change the shock-factor of watching Him rise from the ground, a thousand times larger than normal.


	31. Chapter 31

**A/N**

**Hi there! So… I know that this one wasn't as soon as the past updates, but hey, I'm getting better.**

**Some of you that have me on Author Alert might have noticed that I made a one-shot for Butch and Buttercup, and for those of you that have reviewed it and such, I am so grateful! If you haven't read it, I encourage you too, as it's my first shot at writing in present-tense style. It's a bit angsty, but it's got that romance in there ;)**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and added this story to favorites! (I am SOOOO sorry, but I don't have time to post and thank everyone! I want to get this chapter out.)**

**A little quote I think you might like:**

**(From the episode "Custody Battle.")**

**Guy with phone: So, anyway, there's this little naked guy following me around. It's a bummer.**

**Mayor: Banana, banana, banana, banana.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

Chapter 31

(Buttercup POV)

I was moving toward the door even before I heard the loud boom, and then the small earthquake that followed.

It wasn't because I knew that they were in trouble, or that either of the two eldest siblings had said anything. It was just that I knew they wouldn't answer me, because I probably looked and seemed to be very unstable.

Who could blame me? I had a massive hangover, I'd just dreamed romantically of my own worst enemy, my jaw was probably broken, and a demon transvestite had taken over my hometown. At least I had some plausible excuses.

Anyway, I reached the door just as soon as I felt the impact of an object hitting the ground outside beneath my feet. Flinging the door open, I witnessed Bubbles rolling off of a woozy-looking Boomer, blood flowing from a few cuts along his body.

He didn't get up immediately, so I rushed forward as Bubbles did the same, reaching him first, of course, since she had been paces away in the first place.

She helped him sit up and he rubbed the back of his head. I could see it was wet, with blood probably. Just by the pained look on his face, I realized that it wasn't the first time he'd made contact with a hard surface today.

Before I could take another step further, however, the ground began to quake. Bubbles made a little gasping sound, and I could hear the footsteps of Blossom and Brick behind me as they made their way to the door, taking in the scene as well as Him rose from beneath the ground, 100 times bigger than usual.

He'd done this before, long ago, when my sisters and I had fought him. He'd used his powers to seep into the ground, and then grow to be of a very intimidating size, breaking the earth as he got bigger. The horrible part about that memory, though, was that I had no idea how we'd managed to defeat him.

Almost as soon as it had happened, I was beside Bubbles, looking up at him. She was helping her boyfriend up, gingerly touching his head. He groaned, but managed to stand, and from the corner of my eye I saw him give Him the most defiant, ferocious glare I'd ever seen. I had no idea he was capable of such a look.

He stood up straighter immediately, as though some sort of fresh determination had just surged through his veins, and reached for Bubbles' hand, grasping it firmly.

It occurred to me now that Him's back was to us, so he couldn't see us, and it would be hard and uncomfortable for him to turn around.

"Boys and girls," He called in that chillingly feminine voice, "Time to show yourselves!"

I clenched my fists, because that rebellious child was rising up inside of me. I did _not _want to give Him what he wanted.

But I didn't want the city to suffer, nor did I want the residents to fear anymore than they already did.

"Guys," I said, as quiet as possible since I didn't want Him to hear me, "We've got to fight Him."

"Are you crazy?" I heard Brick whisper-scream behind me, "There's only five of us, and He's _huge_!"

"We've defeated much worse before," I defended, "When there was only three of us!"

"But he's so _powerful,"_ Boomer spoke up for the first time, and I turned my head to look at him. It struck me that his cheek was burned.

"He did this to me," He said, motioning to the injury I had just noticed, "With his bare claws. He can summon these weird little minion things that shoot fire, too, and are insanely strong, and he's even creepier than he used to be!"

"So you're just going to let a little challenge scare you away?" I snarled.

He narrowed his blue eyes at me, a fiery ferocity in them. "I didn't say I was giving up."

Looking over at Bubbles, I realized that she, too, shared his strong-minded look. The Blues were with me.

Glancing behind me, I saw that the Reds still stood dubiously. It made me angry.

It took so much of my will-power just to keep my voice down.

"Are you serious right now?" I growled at them, "I'm fighting for a cause I'm not even participating in. The least you can do is help us right now."

Brick looked down at his feet, red eyes clouded, and Blossom bit her lip.

I stared the down for a good three minutes as they thought, and thought.

As the silence continued, Him cried again, "Don't be afraid!" And it sent shivers up my spine. He _had _gotten creepier. But the feminine voice wasn't nearly as scary as his deeper tone as he finished the sentence by screaming, "Come out and fight!"

And as the four words were uttered, the atmosphere around us completely changed. I could feel in my veins that it had altered Blossom and Brick's opinion of this situation.

My suspicions were confirmed as Brick's blood-colored eyes were suddenly upon me, and that crazy leader-like gaze burned into my face. Like Boomer, he took his girlfriends' hand in his.

"Alright," He said, looking over at Blossom. A smile I hadn't seen in years was plastered across her features, "Let's do this."

He called us into a huddle, and we discussed our plan: Boomer and Bubbles would serve as a distraction, Blossom and Brick would disable his offenses, and I'd move in for the kill. Literally, hopefully, although they stuck to the hero-act and demanded that I only destroy Him completely if absolutely necessary.

I wasn't counting on that, though. I was _angry, _and I had always been the radical one of the group.

Once the plan was settled upon, we split up. The blondes took to the skies, the redheads cut through the middle of the town, and I skirted around the edge, preparing to dart in and go for the kill.

As I moved, I kept my ears open, although my mind was somewhere else. My dream kept coming back to me, more vividly now, it seemed, now that I was able to think about it and be sure that it was my own thoughts and that I wasn't being influenced by alcohol or a dream-induced false state of being.

An almost overpowering feeling of loneliness filled my insides, and images of my sisters holding hands with their boyfriends popped into my head. They had each other to hold on to, and could get through anything as long as they had each other. I was completely alone. But, then again, Butch might be, too… Maybe that was another thing that was similar about us.

And the funny thing was… I almost _missed _him. I'd known him for three days; I'd never seen him give me a genuine smile, always a sarcastic one. He confused me in so many ways, but his stupid jokes made me grin sometimes. And he always knew how to get under my skin. Was I like that to him?

A new thought came to me. Before he'd left, when we'd had that huge fight… He'd spouted all sorts of information to me that not many knew, especially that last part. I had a suspicion of how he'd come to know all of that. Because we _were_ counterparts, which meant that maybe, just maybe, our dreams were the same, too. Had we shared a few? Had my subconscious transmitted information to him without my knowing?

A feminine scream snapped me out of my thoughts, and I was immediately on the offensive, but then I realized that it had been a scream of frustration, uttered by Him and not either of my sisters. Or Boomer or Brick, I noted with a slight grin.

Then He gave a shout of pain, and I could hear the faint whooshing sounds of Boomer, Brick, Blossom and Bubbles as they began to disable the giant red transvestite.

I waited only a few moments, and then dove through the town, throwing myself at every weak spot I could think of.

I came into contact with his stomach first and aimed fist after fist at the bright flesh, and then tried to cut into it with the lasers from my eyes. It was to no avail, so I tried another place.

I went for his neck this time, conscious of the things going on around me. Boomer and Bubbles were throwing things at his face, keeping his eyes off of me and the other two as we continued to try different things. I heard him give a cry of pain as Blossom breathed ice onto his heel, freezing it over briefly before it caught fire and melted.

I started punching and trying to burn his neck. Anger and desperation burned through me. He couldn't destroy anything else, he couldn't take away what my sisters had, he couldn't do ANYTHING here! I was so caught up in my own emotions and situation that I didn't hear Bubbles' scream, or Boomers' grunt as they were swatted away from His line of vision. Nor did I hear Blossom's screamed warning as his fiery claw made its way toward me.

It grasped me around the neck and I gave a moan of pain as he began to squeeze, pulling me away from him. His claw caught fire, engulfing me in the worst pain I had ever felt in my entire life.

I gagged, and felt him start to squeeze even harder. I could barely register the fact that Blossom was blowing ice onto his claw, and that Brick was trying to pry it open with all of his strength.

My air supply was beginning to cease and my vision was getting dizzy as I continued to burn. But, finally, I felt the air return to my lungs as someone managed to pull me out of there, and I dropped ninety feet to the ground.

My head hit the earth with extreme force, and my eyesight swam again. Pain engulfed me again, but this time at an even more excruciating level. Things began to dim, and I was barely even aware of people shouting my name. I could hear Brick's deep baritone, Boomer's slightly higher one, Blossom's was commanding, like it had been in our childhood, and then Bubbles' squeal was heard last, making my ears ring.

But then there was another voice. At first I thought that it was Him's, but then I realized that I was totally wrong. This voice wasn't as deep as Brick's, but it wasn't as high as Boomer's. It had a slight raspy tone to it, and my heart started to beat faster, sending more blood to my head, which might have been bleeding right now.

I was still confused by it, and I squinted into the bright light of the sun as my ditzy mind tried to comprehend just what in the hell I was hearing, but something made me realize just then.

It might have been my memories of the dream I'd had last night.

It might have been that sudden desire I'd had for him only a few moments ago.

Or it might have been his sudden appearance as he hovered over me, casting shadows over my face as he blocked out the sun, dark green eyes blazing protectively.


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N**

**So… Did you pee your pants when you saw that Butch was back? Well? Did ya, did ya?**

**I just want to thank you guys for being so freaking amazing. I would have never had the attention span to finish this story if it weren't for your support. Just know that someone you've never met before loves your guts. Creepy, right?**

**Thanks to: Ikuni Hattori, Cheshire Phantom, Mew Pancake, meli31295, RQRGJM9311, MidnightAngel1095, H8rpatrol, anonymous, cupcake, puteriemily, PPGXRRB-luv, vwvanlover, xXduncanxloverXx, FKS, PowerGirl, Pikalover10, Inukikfan4ever, person, spiceypepper, eternaldarknessgirl101, JayJayBrownie, kaci, jenaca, xSerenityIsn'tAlwaystheAnswerx, Bubblycutie and Awesomenessdude, Hooray, animeskullgirl16, ppgrulz123, laurenv20, What, me me me, shewolfgang, and the-writing-vampire!**

**And since you guys liked that quote…**

**(From "Bubble Boy.")**

**Professor- (After Bubbles single-handedly captures that Rowdyruffs.) Bubbles! I could hardly contain myself, hiding in the closet!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls.**

Chapter 32

(Buttercup POV)

After everything went black, my mind was a complete blank. It wasn't that I passed out, and then woke up in what seemed like three seconds later, because there'd been many instances where that had happened to me. It was this weird, floaty feeling that suddenly came over me.

It felt like I was suspended in water, and a shroud of black had been cast over my body. When I opened my eyes, all I saw was darkness, and some part inside of me prayed and hoped that I wasn't dead; because it seemed that this was what death was like. I couldn't leave my sisters; I couldn't leave that city without the measly protection that I could provide… I couldn't leave for other reasons, too, that I slightly admitted to myself but wouldn't voice aloud.

That expanse of floating blackness was comforting to my mind, but not to my body. I was sore, and my skin was burning, still, but not like it had been before my eyes had closed.

Every once in awhile I could hear shouts, something big crushing something else with a loud noise, but I couldn't be sure. It could've been my subconscious picking up things in the waking world, or it could have just been memories, floating through my head. I'd been in enough situations like this to pick and choose certain sounds that could drift through my mind.

I could taste blood on my tongue, but the familiar substance wasn't literally in my mouth. This confused me even further.

Yet I was content to just sit and be still in one place, which was very rare. I wanted to leave, to go and fight for a stupid cause that I didn't believe in, but then again, I didn't. This place was so much simpler. My emotions didn't bug me here. I could think rationally without the opinions of others weighing my thoughts down. I could focus.

I wondered if this was what it was like inside of Blossom or Brick's heads. Darkness, quiet, solitude. Maybe they came here every night in sleep, instead of having hectic dreams that reigned havoc on their lives like me? Especially that one from last night.

As I was thinking all of this, I realized that this realm was slipping from my brain. It was like grains of sand sliding through my fingers, and I desperately tried to hold on as tendrils of darkness disappeared, only to be filled with the dark color of the inside of my eyelids.

It was too late. That place was gone, and I had no idea if I could ever go back.

"Buttercup?"

The voice was clear as day, not surprising since sound had rung so clearly in my sleep.

My eyelids were heavy, but I wasn't drowsy. My body wasn't burning, like it had been before and in slumber, but I still felt very sore, especially in my neck and shoulders. It felt like I had sunburn.

"Come on, wake up," I heard Brick coax, and then, a thought occurred to me as I zoned in more on the sounds around me.

It was quiet, except for the sound of breathing and the hum of the air conditioner. And that realization was what made my eyes snap open.

I was in my room, surrounded by those I had seen just before I'd fallen unconscious.

"Why aren't you guys out fighting?" I demanded, and my voice sounded rough, but not broken or drowsy.

I stared at Blossom first, who was standing directly to my right, glass of water in hand. Brick stood beside her, arms crossed. Boomer and Bubbles were at the foot of the bed. He had his arms around her, and she had tearstains on her face.

I wondered where Butch was briefly, but then I decided to ignore him for the moment. Maybe it had just been my imagination. Maybe he hadn't really been there.

"Him's been subdued for the moment," Brick said, smug smirk on his face. He had this air of confidence surrounding him that I hadn't seen in a long time. He had been restored to his natural leader-like self, and I noticed that Blossom had as well.

"The town?" I insisted.

"Still in turmoil, Him's still here, but everyone's been moved to secure locations. Well, as secure as secure can get," He answered curtly.

Blossom leaned down then, forcing the water into my hand with a commanding, motherly look that meant I was going to drink it.

"How do you feel?" She asked, and I grimaced in response, reaching up to touch my sore collarbone as I sipped the water.

"Not so hot," I muttered, squinting. Catching Bubbles' worried look and Boomers' whispered words of comfort, I quickly added, "But I'm much better than I was. Thanks to you guys."

Still eying Bubbles, I noted her change in demeanor. Boomers' changed, too, unsurprisingly, and their faces looked a lot alike. I glanced over at the two redheads, and saw the same expression. This alarmed me.

"What?" I grumbled.

"We're not the ones you should be thanking. If it weren't for Butch, you'd be dead by now," Came the voice, and to my complete surprise, it was Bubbles who had spoken.

But as her words registered, my heart gave a jumpstart, and I said one word in my mind:

_Shit._

I watched them wearily, and at the same time, all four pairs of eyes flicked towards the direction of the door.

Slowly, I rotated my neck to look directly at him. Slowly because, for one, my neck stung _badly. _Secondly, I didn't know if I wanted to look him in the eye. Really see him for the first time in so long.

He was leaning against the wall, jeans stained, shirt ripped, and from here, I could see that his lip was torn and that his hair was a little longer, falling into his eyes. He was biting that torn lip of his, and looking over to the side, not meeting anyone's gaze.

It was silent for a moment, and the awkwardness kept growing. It would have continued to do so if Boomer hadn't broken the silence.

"Well," He said, stretching his arms and yawning widely—I couldn't tell if it was fake or not—"We should probably get to bed. Him's probably going to be on the offensive again tomorrow, and we need all the sleep we can get."

"Yeah, _we _will get some sleep," Brick said with a nod, "But you two should chat for a while. Afterall—"

"—Buttercup needs to say thank you," Blossom finished for him.

I grimaced inwardly. The last thing that I wanted to do was say thank you. I noticed from the corner of my eye that Butch glanced up abruptly and looked at me, then glared over at our siblings.

They shuffled out of the room, dispersing into their respective pairs, and whispering quietly among themselves. I cursed in my mind that their murmurs were the only ones in the world that I couldn't hear.

Blossom exited last, and she pulled my door shut with a smirk on her face.

The room grew tense again, neither of us saying a word, both of us averting our eyes.

I assessed my feelings in that moment. I'd never felt warmth toward him, only confusion and distrust.

I wasn't usually an open person, but I could read people like a book. And I realized then, that he was an exception. Glancing over at him, I noted his dark expression, and knew that it could mean anything coming from him.

It then occurred to me, that this wasn't the Butch I had known. The Butch I had gotten to re-meet would have been bullshitting and annoying me right now, not leaning against the wall, brooding.

I decided to break the silence. There was no use in this.

"Thanks… for saving me," I muttered, he looked up briefly, bit his lip, and looked away again.

It was starting to unnerve me: This burdened, gloomy, mysterious side of him. I decided right then that I preferred to be annoyed than ignored.

"Uh…" I began again, trying to start a conversation. I looked for good topics, the ones that itched at my mind the most, the questions I wanted to ask: Why come back now? Where were you? How did you know? …Do you have weird dreams about the future… that strangely involve me?

"How'd you beat Him?" I asked instead, and wanted to punch myself in the face. Lame question. I'd had the opportunity to ask him _anything _and I'd settled for that.

He looked up again, meeting my gaze for the first time with his dark green orbs, and chills ran down my spine. There was something changed about them… they looked almost… haunted. And heartbroken.

He smirked, but that look in his eyes never faltered.

He spoke for the first time, and his voice was the same as ever.

"When I was little, me and my brothers really pissed him off, and he grew to be that size. Us going through puberty at the time, our minds were a little dirtier than usual, thanks to hormones. He may be a transvestite, but he _is _a guy. And what is every guy's weakness?"

It took me a few seconds to get it. And when I did, I busted up in laughter, making my body ache.

I laughed and laughed, feeling all of that built up emotion drain out of my system as I continued to grin. I realized that I hadn't laughed like this in months. He had been the first one in a long time, to make me smile.

When I was done, I looked up at him again, but a sudden pain rippled through my chest.

"Ow," I grumbled, rubbing roughly against my collarbone.

To my surprise, he was by my side in an instant.

"Does it hurt?" He demanded, leaning down over me, reaching out with a hand.

I gazed up at him, alarmed, and noticed that dark look again.

The frustration returned, and, unable to help myself, I began to let my anger out.

"Why do you care?" I demanded. "Why are you even here?"

"Wow, what happened to 'Thank you?'" He grumbled, leaning back and crossing his arms, regarding me with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, thanks for saving _me _this one time! Your brothers have really needed you for the past few months, not me. Do you realize that they both hurt themselves in some way? They both did some form of self-mutilation, all because you had to go and be your selfish-self," I snarled.

He gritted his teeth, and I could hear them grinding from where I sat, upright in bed now.

"I left because I didn't want what my brothers had. I wanted to stay loyal to my mission, and do what I was born to do," He responded slowly, venom in every word.

"Then why are you back, Butch? Tell me _exactly _why the _hell _you are back!" I demanded, almost at the top of my lungs. Well, the loudest I could go, at least, with the soreness in my neck.

"Do you really wanna know?" He hissed.

"Yes!"

"I'm back because I _care. _I saw the news report on the Townsville website that reported on Him attacking," He answered.

I looked him over coolly, considering his reply. It sounded believable, but another thought aroused in my mind.

"Why were you on the Townsville website?"

Something about his demeanor changed, and I could tell that I had hit a weak spot. A chink in the new armor he had been sporting.

He was silent for a long time, and after that time had passed, I realized that I probably wasn't going to get an answer.

But then, he surprised me.

"I was thinking about _you."_

I stared at him, and was completely shocked. After a few seconds, I blinked and put on that hard mask that I knew so well.

"Why in the hell would you be thinking about me? I don't need you, Butch!"

"Oh, yeah. You seemed like you had _everything _under control as Him suffocated you and no one else could help you!"

"That's different," I defended.

We were silent again, angry.

"Alright, enough questions about me," He said, and I immediately began to protest, but he silenced me as he finished his sentence. "Why are you fighting? Why are you helping them?"

I scoffed. "Because I love and support my sisters?"

"But you know that they can take care of themselves."

"Well, yeah, but—"

"—Bullshit, Buttercup. You're a pretty wild spirit, and you fight a lot, but you fight for what you believe in. There's always a reason behind your anger," He snarled.

I didn't want to believe him, but I knew he was right. He was probably the same way.

Still, I kept quiet, refusing to give him the satisfaction of being correct about me.

"So tell me, Sunshine," He said, and his voice sounded rough and broken, but it was soft. Something I'd only heard from him in my dream. "Why wont you indulge in what you're fighting for?"

I looked into his green eyes, and I could see so many, many looks in their depths, but I couldn't isolate even one. He was still a closed book to me.

I remembered the Butch in my dream. I had admired him, really liked him, and I knew then that he could _be _that Butch. But, I didn't want him. Because I didn't want to rely on anyone but myself.

Rage filled me again, as I realized that he was trying to control me. He was trying to use reverse-psychology on me, and I could just feel it. I lashed out again.

"Just because I'm related to my giddy, in-love sisters, doesn't mean that I have to be like them!" I yelled, "I don't want that! I want to destroy the freaking demon, and all of those stupid criminals that got away, and be done with this! Then maybe I can just go off to college, or the military, or whatever, all by myself, and leave everything behind!"

"Why are you so stubborn?" He snarled.

"Go get a life, Butch. I don't need you," I hissed.

He rolled his eyes, and turned around, heading for the door.

"Whatever. Don't be surprised if I save you again tomorrow."

"Please don't."

"I will."

"I. DON'T. NEED. YOU!"

He scoffed; turned around to look at me one last time, smirked, and slammed the door.


	33. Chapter 33

**A/N**

**Hey there! **

**We're currently studying the Holocaust in my history class, so I'm a teensy bit emotional right now because I reread the Diary of Anne Frank. If you haven't read it, **_**read it. **_

**Anyway, here's the next chapter. So sorry for the long wait.**

**You guys are amazing!**

**Thanks for reviewing, following and making this story one of your favorites! **

**Thanks to: H8rPatrol, meli31295, xXduncanxloverXx, ShareBearTheDeathBear, AutumnBlayze, MidnightAngel1095, Mew Pancake, Dynamite Girl, me me me, , wildone97, Deep Sea Neko, RQRGJM9311, Starfire123, PPGXRRB-liv, heartless4ever, ChibixGiraffe, FKS, CookieMonstar, the-writing-vampire, anonymous, cartoonlover03, vwvanlover, InuKikfan4ever, JadeTyga, baby angel, baby angel, MadTweety, TomboyIsAwesome, person, Hooray, What, MilitaryBratUSA, KeroNya, ppgrulz123, Pika Pika 21, person, Bubblycutie and Awesomenessdude, kaci, rock n' rolling, anonymous2, shewolfgang, animeskullgirl16, WOW, 1234567890, Senslula, Lauren, MusicFan Banana, ..dinosaur, BlueHeavensAngel (Thanks for the constructive criticism. I need to mail you back.) and greenluvr10. That's 52 reviews for one chapter. Wow. You guys rock.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls…**

**P.S. I found the perfect song for Butch and BC. Anyone care to guess what it is? You'll get cyberhugs if you get it right! But you don't want my creepy cyberhugs, do you?**

Chapter 33

(Brick POV)

"Dude, move, I can't hear!" I growled quietly, pressing my shoulder against Buttercup's bedroom door and forcing my blonde brother whom had been in the spot right beside me only a moment ago away.

"Yes you can," He hissed back, "You're a superhuman, you've got insanely acute hearing."

"Wow, seems like someone's using words that make him seem to big for his britches," I argued as he pushed himself back into his place, making me scoot over again.

He snorted softly, "'Britches?' What, are you British?"

"Yes, guv'nah, you haven't heard?" I said sarcastically, feigning an accent.

"Guys, will you shut up?" Blossom shushed, "I can't hear anything over your arguing!"

I quieted down immediately, but Boomer looked as if he were going to object until Bubbles gave him a pleading smile from where she leaned against the wall next to her redheaded sister, and then he complied and fell silent.

We continued to listen to the conversation behind the closed door, and I found myself hoping that it would end in a passionate make-out session, although the last time those two had been alone together, I'd been praying for the exact opposite.

It was strange the way time worked.

Muttering was coming from behind the wooden barrier and I heard a sudden outburst of, "Bullshit, Buttercup!" from Butch and my heart dropped. They were fighting. Again. Even after everything that all of us had been through.

After a few more muttered words, I distinctly hear him say, "So tell me Sunshine…. Why won't you indulge in what you're fighting for?"

They were soft, understanding, and almost… intelligent words. Coming from Butch, this sounded laughable!

But, then again, we'd all changed due to being around each other and his absence from our lives. I couldn't even begin to imagine what he was like now, since he'd lived for so many months without the comfort of having two brothers around. But just from getting that first glimpse of him today… the anger and determination in his eyes that I'd always known since childhood had altered into a look of purpose. It was no longer mindless fury. He'd found something to direct his anger towards. Found something other than crime to live for.

And I didn't need to read minds to know what, or rather who, that thing was. I just had no idea how it had come to that.

Remembering his face at the scene made me remember the entire thing, from the sudden panic as Buttercup was seized by the red claws of the demon transvestite until now, as we stood outside her door, ears pressed to the cedar wood to try and comprehend the words she and Butch were passing—or probably spitting—back and forth.

Blossom and I had been near his legs, trying to trip him up so he would fall forward, we'd catch him, and probably beat him to a pulp. Or at least one not from high concentrate because killing wasn't how a hero won their battles.

I was using my heat vision to try and burn a mark into his skirt-covered-thigh—which was to no avail since he was made of fire, I realized a bit too late—when I heard Blossom heave a scream of warning at Buttercup. Turning, I saw immediately that Him's claw was making it's way toward the dark-haired girl, and she found that this was happening a bit too late. It clamped down around her throat and started to radiate heat. I could feel it from where I was still hovering by his thigh.

She gagged as he began to squeeze.

Panicking, Blossom and I rushed up to help, being the closest. She started to breathe ice onto the lobster-like limb and I braced my foot against one side of it and tried to pry it open, but it wasn't working.

Glancing over at Buttercup, I saw her eyes starting to flutter shut as oxygen was cut off from her brain.

But, suddenly, there was a roar of pure anger.

I spared a surprise look in the direction where it was coming from to see a dark green streak heading straight for us.

It collided with the claw, the impact of the attack sent both Blossom and I flying, and began to punch it ferociously. Surprisingly, I heard it crack and Him cried out in pain.

From where I was, I could see a part of the claw shatter, like a bit of glass in a window, and it fell into what should have been hollow if it had been a real claw, but instead it fell into a burning inferno of fire that was inside of the demon. The sight made my blood run cold.

And seeing this stunned me apparently, because I hadn't noticed that Him had let go of Buttercup and that she was falling to the earth, her fall minimally softened only by the clothes on her body and the dark hair on her head. But before I could react, that same green streak was speeding towards her.

It was too late, though. Buttercup hit the ground with a sickening _boom! _and fell still.

"Shit, shit, shit," The green streak was muttering, still going towards her. It reached her side in an instant and stopped.

I already knew who it was. Who else would it be?

But the sight of my brother still shocked me as he suddenly appeared, kneeling beside his counterpart.

With aberrant carefulness, he gently lifted Buttercup's neck from the ground and smoothed her sweaty hair back from her face, slapping both of her cheeks tentatively but firmly.

"Buttercup?" I heard him mutter.

I could only stare. The way he was acting was so abnormal, I wondered if this was really Butch. It made no sense. Last we'd seen him, he'd been trying to get _away _from Buttercup. Why would he be gentle now? Why would he be _here?_

Shaking myself out of the reverie, I got back into the fight. I had to keep Him distracted long enough for Butch to haul Buttercup to safety or revive her.

I went in towards Him's chest this time, aiming for where his heart should be. Although that probably wouldn't make a difference because he was immortal. This thought crossed my mind, but all I cared about was making Him feel some sort of pain, or at least annoyance. I needed to buy my younger brother time.

Pulling my fist back behind my head before I even reached my target, I began to muster strength in power in both my legs and arm to be able to push off and punch at the same time to hopefully send Him flying.

I hit him where I'd intended and attacked precisely. Him stumbled a little bit, and I used this to my advantage, aiming more blows at his chin to make him stagger even more.

I kept doing this, and every once in a while, Him would manage to smack at me, earning me a small gash on my arm, but nothing else. I wasn't doing much to him. This distraction wouldn't last long, and it wouldn't phase him at all. I just knew that I had to keep going.

But just as I pulled my arm back from another strike, Him suddenly doubled over in pain.

I tilted my head to the side, looking over the area I'd been attacking. There weren't even any bruises… I noticed that Blossom was attacking his thigh, and Bubbles and Boomer were swarming his feet… How had we managed to…?

But then I heard Butch's shouts of anger as he hit his mark again, and Him let out a grunt of agony.

Furrowing my brows, I looked down to see Butch near Him's… crotch area.

A sudden memory came back to me of when we were little. When we'd manage to push Him a little too far. He'd grown to be huge like this. And Butch had found his weakness. He'd never told me what it was. Now I knew.

I guess guys were guys. Even if they were transvestite and demonic.

Shaking my head and uttering a laugh, I'd watched as a wreath of smoke curled around Him and he disappeared from view. Once the smoke had cleared from my line of sight, it rose up into the sky, and I couldn't see our enemy at all.

But then I heard his weird, feminine voice.

"This is not over, little ones," It said, echoing around the walls of the city, "Now that my suspicions have been confirmed—"His voice changed to a demonic, lower pitch—"I have a reason to take you down."

And with that, the cloud disappeared. But the red haze over the city remained.

We were quiet for a moment. All of us lost in our own thoughts. Butch had flown back down to Buttercup, whom he'd carried over to a small, desolate store for protection, and was looking over her injury—a small gash on the back of her head.

But after a few seconds, he looked up at us, green eyes dark with some emotion, and yelled, "Hey! Can I get some help down here?"

I exchanged a glance with Blossom and floated down to help, landing on the ground beside them.

I kneeled, coming down to his level and examining his counterpart with him.

There was blood dripping out of her mouth and her clothes were torn in places around her shoulders. Butch reached out and lifted her head up again with both hands, moving one hand away after a few seconds to examine it. It was stained with a small amount of blood.

I grimaced. "She probably has a concussion."

"You think?" Butch growled, reaching out with the hand that wasn't supporting her head to touch the burn marks around her throat that I hadn't seen before. "She probably has a case of whip-lash, too."

I blinked again, staying silent, but then I looked over at him with curiosity. He was still looking down at her, his jade eyes dark with concern and anger. I looked at him for quite some time, taking in his shaggy appearance. Not only had he changed outwardly, but he had changed inwardly, too. It was like he was radiating feelings of… something. I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

But I knew that our absence from his life had also had an effect on him like it had on us. And considering the fact that he was fussing over Buttercup, I realized that he had also missed her to some extent, too, although it sounded impossible.

"Butch, what happened?" I asked, voicing my thoughts out loud.

He didn't move his eyes from Buttercup's face.

"Now's not the time for me to explain," He said gruffly, biting his lip. I said nothing.

It was now that Blossom and Bubbles came forward to look at their sister. I could tell from the anxious looks on their faces that they were indeed nervous because of Butch and the look on his face. I had to agree with them… It was a little unnerving. And he was my own brother!

Blossom knelt first, feeling Buttercup's forehead. But, before she touched it, she glanced at Butch, almost like she was making sure he wouldn't lurch forward and bite her hand off in defense of her younger sister. He didn't move, just kept looked at Buttercup's motionless, pale features.

Blossom swept her fingers across the pallid skin, making what she could of the brief contact.

"She feels feverish," She reported.

Bubbles suddenly whimpered, jumping forward to snatch up Buttercup's hand, but Butch blocked her way, up from his place in less than a heartbeat. It shocked us all, but Bubbles the most.

She moved back with a squeak and Boomer stepped to her side, comforting her by touching their fingers together. She reached over with her left hand and clutched his bicep tightly, a little fearful of Butch's animal behavior. And the fact that he was still standing stock still in the place he had claimed in order to block Bubbles' sudden movement, glaring at her.

"Hey," I said, standing up slowly, making sure I wouldn't alarm him. It seemed as though he were kind of unstable for some reason…

Butch turned his face in my direction, but kept his eyes on Bubbles, threateningly.

"Let's get Buttercup to the girls' house. We need to tend to her injuries," I said, offering up something I thought that, due to the way he was acting, he couldn't resist.

Just as I'd expected, he turned towards me and nodded.

I offered him and smile and he returned it, then I kneeled down again to gently pick Buttercup up.

I had barely even touched her arm when a hand clamped down on my shirt, stopping the motion. Butch pushed me away firmly, not looking me in the eye, and then he leaned down to do exactly what I had planned to do.

But he did something else as well.

Squatting down, he gently adjusted Buttercup's body so she wouldn't be uncomfortable when he picked her up. He started at her waist, inspecting with his eyes for broken ribs to be aware of, and then he went to her torso, moving her arms to a more relaxed position. He slowly turned her neck so it wouldn't move too much or fall back when he picked her up.

Then, to our surprise, he hesitantly reached out and brushed a stray piece of black hair away from her face, gently combing it behind her ear. After that, he slowly leaned down and brushed his lips against the milky skin of her cheek.

My eyebrows furrowed at this and my eyes widened. I glanced out of the corner of my eye at Blossom who also looked astounded.

_...What the hell?_

My short period of shock had distracted me from the slow movement of Butch picked her up and turned towards us, holding her like a groom would hold his bride.

"Hey," He grunted, "Let's go."

I nodded sharply, feeling as if I was regarding a stranger, and motioned for Boomer and Bubbles to lead the way.

They took off in unison, their two shades of blue trail blending together brilliantly in their wake. Butch followed, his single streak of green messing the once beautiful shade of azure of and turning it into a color similar to baby barf.

I turned to Blossom in the brief moment we had to share any comments before joining our siblings.

"That was weird," She said, saying out loud what I had been thinking. I smirked. Counterparts till the end.

"Yeah, no kidding," I snorted, "What do you think happened to him… to make him act that way towards her?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm making it my business to. It's making me nervous."

"Me too."

She sighed and looked around us, surveying the damage to the city. A few buildings were missing a couple of stories. Debris was piled atop a few cars, their alarms still sounding. The sky was still a hazy red.

"Him's still out there, you know," I mused.

"I know," She sighed in response, turning to me with thoughtful coral pink eyes. She bit her lip with a set of perfect white teeth and looked down at the ground. "And I know I've never ever said this, so don't you dare hold it against me but…"

I raised an eyebrow, taking a few steps closer to her. I took her hand in mine, hinting at my acceptance and good nature to whatever she was going to say.

"What is it?" I encouraged softly.

"Brick, I'm kind of scared."

I smirked. "Why?"

"See! You're making fun of me!"

"Am not," I snickered, pulling her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around my torso in response, resting her head on my shoulder.

We stood there for a few moments, both of us completely silent, just listening to the sounds of our dying city. I lifted a strand of her hair and examined it between my fingers, looking at its beautiful red luster, twisting it around my finger.

"Why are you scared?" I asked again.

"So many peoples lives are in danger… our lives are in danger…" She murmured.

I chuckled. "Look. The hero thing is new to me, but it's not new to you," I pointed out, "And I know that this is not a first for you. You've defeated evil worse than this. We can handle this homo, Blossom."

She laughed softly and pulled away, then placed a small lingering kiss on my cheek. I felt a blush creep along my cheekbones, and felt immediately embarrassed. She was the only one who could bring such a look to my face.

"Thanks, Brick," She whispered.

"My pleasure."

We flew home after that to find them already in Buttercup's room. Butch was standing by her bedside, arms crossed and shoulders squared while Bubbles and Boomer were leaning against the wall by her door.

When Blossom and I entered the room, my dark-haired brother didn't even look up.

I turned to Boomer for a synopsis on Buttercup's condition and he reported that the professor had looked her over, reported she hadn't broken any bones, but she a gash on the back of her head, a mild concussion, a bad case of whip-lash, and lots of bruises. He'd said that a night in bed would do her a lot of good.

I nodded and thanked him, walking over to Butch afterward. I knew that he probably wasn't in the mood, but I needed an explanation.

"Hey," I greeted him, and he gave me a grunt in response. I bit my lip, getting a little frustrated. I felt like I had no idea what I was dealing with.

"So…" I tried again, "Where did you go?"

He shrugged. "Citiesville."

I didn't ask why. I already knew.

But I did ask another question.

"Why'd you come back?"

He didn't answer. He didn't even spare me a glance.

"Butch, I need to know these things," I said.

"No, you don't. Just accept that I've changed and that I'm here. I don't have to explain myself to you," He growled.

I gritted my teeth. He was starting to get under my skin like all younger brothers do.

"I just think it would be nice to know why you're acting so…" I didn't finish, knowing I might anger him. I didn't know what he would do if he as angry now.

"Weird, hormonal and lustful?" He suggested the terms, raising an eyebrow, and, for once giving me the time of day with his forest green eyes that I hadn't seen in months.

Just the sight of them lifted a small weight off of my chest.

"Yeah… that," I said.

He sighed. "It's hard to explain."

"You could tell me… while she's sleeping," I proposed.

He shook his head. "I can't. Not yet."

I nodded, folding my arms over my chest and looking down at the dark-haired Powerpuff. She was looking much more peaceful now, the color slowly returning to her cheeks as her superhuman body started to heal itself.

Suddenly, she stirred, groaning in her sleep and turning her head slightly. Strands of black hair fell into her face and she breathed through her nose, opening her mouth so that her tresses moved slightly, disturbed by the air.

Butch tensed beside me, and then, slowly, he reached out and brushed the hair away, ever so tenderly, and then he jerked his hand away, getting self-conscious.

A smile pulled the side of my mouth up a little bit.

I'd figured out a little piece of the puzzle with that other small movement. I just needed time and a little more information if I was going to find Butch's story out by myself, which was what it seemed like he was condemning me to do. He had never been good with words.

"What are you gonna tell Buttercup?"

"Huh?"

I smiled again. "You do realize that when she wakes up, she's going to want answers. And she'll be a _tad _bit more forceful than I."

He shrugged. "Dunno. Whatever comes out of my mouth comes out of my mouth I guess."

I smiled. At least one thing hadn't changed.

The sound of the door slamming snapped me out of the flashback and I blinked, my eyesight focusing in on the subject of my memory.

"Hey…" I said uneasily, noticing his expression. He looked dark, his eyes downcast and murky with anger and frustration. His hair hung in his face and he chewed on his lip, the skin of his cheek pulled tight over his jaw, revealing the white outline of a long, thin scar he'd gotten from some stupid accident some time ago. "How'd it go?"

He shrugged. "She's pissed. But whatever, I guess. She'll have to get along with me sooner or later if I'm gonna help you guys save the city."

His words were picked carefully. 'Get along with me.' 'If I'm gonna help.' Meaning that she would have to admit things like he had hinted at in the past few minutes and that there was a slight possibility that he would leave again right after the threat was taken care of. He was already threatening to go.

"Don't act all nonchalant," Someone said, and I recognized the voice to be Bubbles. I looked up, surprised. I couldn't remember her talking directly to Butch at all since he'd showed up. "You love her, don't you?"

He looked over at Bubbles, forest green eyes meeting sky blue. Coldness meeting warmth. Anger meeting joy.

He didn't answer. He just walked away with his hands in his jeans pockets, heading down to the kitchen.


	34. Chapter 34

**A/N**

**Sorry for my long absence, guys… the end of the school year is always when the teachers try to cram stuff into your mind. School is over for me now, and I'm about to go to my grandparent's house for a week. From there, my Marine of a dad is going to "get me into shape." The words scare me, but, hey, at least I can be buff while I finish this story before the end of the summer :)**

**Thanks to all who gave me feedback on the song for Butch and Buttercup! Those songs really fit them! **

**And thanks to all who reviewed: Fairytale Perception, CheshirePhantom, Bubblycutie and Awesomenessdude, hisoka-san, Deep Sea Neko, MidnightAngel1095, Meerkatgal156, xXduncanxloverXx, ShareBearTheDeathBear, ., InuKikfan4ever, vwvanlover, MilitaryBratUSA, jenaca, CookieMonstar, PPGXRRB-luv, RQRGJM9311, thekawaiione, ppgrulz123, canzie, RespectNoneFearNone, Dynamite Girl, animeskullgirl16, TomboyIsAwesome, laurenv20, -blank person-, baby angel, the-writing-vampire, person, kaci, shewolfgang, MusicFan Banana, BUTTERCUPxBUTCH, Kadiewillsum, 2cool2care, Adriene, and gUardianAngeL742. **

**Umm… wow. Holy crud, guys. That's three pages of reviews and 37 amazing reviewers that I can't thank enough. All of you are awesome.**

**Disclaimer: I shant ever own the Powerpuff Girls. Alas, I am sorry. (I have no idea if I used 'alas' in the right context, and shant is a mixture of shouldn't and can't that isn't a word, but you get the picture!)**

Chapter 34

(Butch POV)

I was the first one up that morning, and was by myself for a few hours.

Aside from the professor, I mean, but he didn't really count since he came down the stairs and into the kitchen where he saw me at the table, and then stopped in his tracks, eyes wide, only to back up, retrace his steps, and go back to bed.

It made me smile a little, at least, for the first time in days. Here I was, sacrificing myself and everything I believed in for his daughter, and he still almost always shit his pants when he saw me. It figured.

I'd gotten up at three in the morning. Yeah, bad idea, since I was supposed to fight a demon of a he-she later on in the day and I needed all the sleep I could get, but, the strange thing was, now that I was in the place I knew I was supposed to be… I still felt really restless.

One, because when I'd actually shut my eyes and drifted off for the hour that I did, no dreams came. At all. And it freaked me out, which is a weird thing to say because the dreams themselves freaked me out, but after having them for so long, their absence was unsettling. They'd become a frightening part of my routine, and without them, I felt… what, numb? Confused? Lost? I had no idea.

Two, because _she _was on my mind. Yeah, you know, Hannah Montana? I was still trying to figure out how the hell she and Miley Cyrus could be one person…

Just kidding. I was thinking about Buttercup.

She made me feel so many different emotions at the same time, and she made me _think. _Which is ironic, because I'm not a thinker or a feeler, I'm a _doer._

When I saw Him about to kill her, I went with my first instinct: Save her, no matter the consequences. My familiar exceptional strength had gripped me as I went at my former guardian with all my might, shattering part of his claw in that desperate moment of time, and when I saw her fall to the concrete, my heart dropped into my ribs.

It had never done that before, which was why I paused. I shouldn't have paused because in those split seconds, I could have saved her from having more injuries than she should have.

I felt so protective; I just wanted to make sure she was all right, because that's what I was here for. It seemed that my dreams were telling me to watch over her, to make sure she was safe. That was all that I was here to do, and then I was going to leave again, I _had _to.

But… when I finally came within arms reach of her, my resolve crumbled. Because for the first time ever, even with filth and blood staining her skin and dirt matted in her hair, I realized that she was beautiful.

And I didn't ever want to leave again, unless she told me to. Because in that moment, I knew that I'd be whatever she wanted, or needed, me to be.

I'd been so protective over her, touching her whenever I could just to be able to feel her soft skin brush against my own, trying not to get carried away with brushing her hair out of her face. I decided that I hated it when it was in her face, because I couldn't see her striking features. And I risked putting my lips on her porcelain skin… just to see how it felt. Because while I was being creepily protective and brutal, I was also… curious…

It wasn't surprising that, when she woke up, she was angry with me. I told her all I could without giving my feelings away, because, while I was unwavering with them, like the teenager I was, I wasn't sure if she felt the same. Now, that isn't cliché at all.

So, here I was, sitting at the kitchen table of the Utonium household, trying to make a game of picking out what each person did while they slept and thinking about my feelings.

It was almost hilarious how the counterparts were the same, even in their sleep. Blossom and Brick snored, Boomer and Bubbles mumbled, and Buttercup, like me, thrashed around violently. I could hear her now, tossing and turning, and I had to use everything in me to stop myself from walking up the stairs to her room, squatting by the edge of her bed, and smoothing away the hair that I just _knew_ was sticking to her face right now.

In a funny way, it was addicting. I liked doing it. Maybe it was because I'd never done it before, but I was almost certain that it was because it was _her._

_My weakness, _I thought, _That's what she's become._

With that topic done, I went on to the next one as I waited, watching the clock on the white stove switch numbers from 5:59 to 6:00 AM. People would start getting up soon. And, by people, I knew that Brick and Blossom would come first, Boomer and Bubbles next, and Buttercup last of all, because without a doubt, all of our sleeping patterns matched as well.

With a sigh, I leaned back in the wooden chair and crossed my arms, biting my lip.

My God, there was so much going on right now. So much at stake.

We were risking our lives, as well as everyone in the towns, for love, as corny as it sounded, and I resented that it did, although I was participating in it now with my whole heart.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs; quiet but loud in the silence that hung in the house. I half expected it to be the professor again, but I knew he'd try to be a bit more hushed because he'd probably be coming to peek and see if I was gone.

Brick came around the corner, which was no surprise to me, rubbing his red eyes from sleep. When he saw me at the kitchen table, he looked half surprised. His eyes widened slightly and he paused before walking over to the counter by the fridge and leaning against it.

I didn't say a word, I simply stared at him.

"You're up early," He observed simply and quietly, breaking the silence.

I cracked a half-smile. "I could say the same for you. Aren't you more of a 7 o'clock person?"

"Uh…" He mumbled, reaching up a hand to rub the back of his neck sheepishly, "Actually, I got up early to make everyone breakfast. Blossom told me last night before she fell asleep that she hadn't had pancakes in a while…"

I snorted, although, still, it was quiet. I didn't want to wake anyone up. "You're such a sap."

His face was somber. "You are, too," He pointed out, staring me right in the eye.

I licked my lips tightly and bit the bottom one, suddenly finding a strange infatuation with the tiled floor, thus causing me to stare at it intently.

"We all saw what you did yesterday, and Bubbles called you on it… And, after you left, Boomer told on you…" He revealed, smirking slightly.

My eyebrows lowered on my face, scrunching together. I looked up at him, confused. "Told on me?" I repeated, "What'd I do?"

"Not what you did, what happened to you," He clarified, "Uh… He told me about your… dreams…"

"Oh," I said simply, going back to chewing on the skin inside of my cheek. We were silent for a moment, and I realized that Brick was waiting for me to say something this time.

I looked up to see him studying me, like he'd never seen me before in his life. Feeling slightly creeped out, I decided to speak in order to stop his analysis of me.

"They started the night we abducted the girls," I told him, giving him direct eye contact. In a way it felt good to finally tell someone about this, even though Boomer already knew. "They started unexpectedly, and at first were very vague. In it, I always had a girlfriend or wife, and when I had a wife I always had a kid, and the kid was always the same even though he was a different age in each dream. It was like I was living a different life in my dreams where I was actually _happy, _even though I didn't know who my wife was… until the girls escaped. That's when I realized that the main subject of my dreams was Buttercup."

I paused here, letting the information soak into both of our systems. Brick looked thoughtful, and didn't say anything. He was concentrating on my face, waiting for the rest of the story.

I looked off to the side, feeling a little anxious because he was just staring at me.

"So, I left. The dreams freaked me out, and I didn't want to have any part of what I didn't understand, because, it's true. I didn't understand them. But the more time I spent away from you guys," I sighed, "The more lost I felt, and the more confused I became. The dreams didn't stop, they kept coming every night, and I actually missed you guys. And Buttercup, too. I stopped hating her, because I realized that the dreams were kind of my own mind warning me about the future. Showing me what could be. And when I saw that Townsville was being attacked by Him, I felt like I needed to help. Like I needed to protect you all, but mostly her. And when I saw her, Brick I…"

I trailed off, leaving it to him to piece together the puzzle and figure out what I had just implied, because, although I'd said it to myself in my own mind, I couldn't say it out loud for some reason.

There was a small silence, and then my older brother asked, "Did you have a dream tonight?"

I shook my head.

"What do you think it means?" He prompted, like he already knew.

"That I'm meant to stay here, and that I'm meant to feel this way," I answered, almost sulkily, like I was a small child answering a question asked of me by an angry adult.

He smiled. "Glad you finally got it through that thick skull of yours."

I smiled in return, but then it faltered and turned into a frown. "Hey, my skull's not thick! There's a brain in there!"

Brick laughed and shook his head, his short red hair getting more unruly as he moved. "I've missed you, bro."

"Missed you too." I replied, my smile growing again.

He stood and walked to the fridge, opening up the door and reaching for the milk that was inside on the middle shelf. "Wanna help me with breakfast?" He asked.

I gasped in mock shock and daintily covered my mouth with my hand, "You can cook and not burn down the house?"

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Bloss taught me some stuff."

"Bloss?" I repeated, "You even have a nickname for her? Man, you're whipped."

"And proud," He declared, a little too loudly, giving me a smug look.

I stood up and crossed the kitchen to the pantry on the other side, going inside to look for whatever we needed.

"So uh… How do you make pancakes?" I asked, feeling really stupid.

He stifled a laugh. "There is a box," He said slowly, as if talking to a toddler, "It says pancake mix on it."

"Oh," I said, dragging the word out, along with the ones in my next sentence, "Butch understand."

I selected the box off of the top shelf and went back into the kitchen where I saw Brick had set out a couple of eggs along with the milk on the counter and was getting a skillet out of a bottom cabinet.

"You know," I said as I set the pancake mix down next to the other ingredients, "If other guys our age were to see us right now, we may look like a gay couple. Teenaged dudes just shouldn't bake."

"Shut up," He growled sheepishly, "We're doing this for my _girlfriend, _therefore, it isn't gay."

"Whatever," I sighed dramatically, and started to read the directions on the back of the box.

In the end, making breakfast was pretty simple. Only the first couple of batches came out burned, thanks to me, and we successfully didn't burn the house down.

Everyone came down at about 7:30, because the food had woken everyone up, and it had really taken us that long to make it. Even Buttercup showed. The professor didn't come, and I suspected that I'd scared him off.

Blossom smiled and kissed Brick on the cheek—This he openly enjoyed and blushed at—and then sat down to eat. Bubbles and Boomer also sat down and dug in with sleepy thank-you's.

Buttercup stood by the door, surveying the food.

I raised my eyebrow at her, and she wouldn't meet my gaze.

Shrugging, I grabbed a plate and stacked about four pancakes on top before smothering them all with butter and syrup, just the way I liked them.

I turned, and held out the plate to Buttercup. Her hair was messy from sleep, and she had bags under her eyes, but she looked stunning, anyway. I didn't let these thoughts touch my eyes.

She stared at the plate in my hand, and then grudgingly raised her eyes to my face.

"What did you do to them?" She sighed, smirking.

"Nothing," I said, giving her a smile, "Just trying to make sure you've got a full stomach to fight on this mornin', Sunshine."

She narrowed her eyes at me, and then slowly took the plate, uttering reluctant thanks and sitting down at the table.

I crossed my arms and smiled softly.

_Baby steps, Butch. She'll trust you eventually._


	35. Chapter 35

**A/N**

**I know you hate me and it's been forever. So I'm just going to say thanks to those who still have the patience with me to read the rest of this...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls**

****Chapter 35

(Butch POV)

"So how exactly are we going to do this?" Came the words that had been on everyone's mind, but had not been uttered once yet that entire morning. We'd just finished breakfast and were starting to clean up when Brick, of course, decided to take matters into his own hands.

Likewise, no one had an answer for him and everyone stared blankly at my red-headed brother with no idea what to say, although it seemed that he was in the mood where he demanded an answer suddenly-Like a teacher who was adamant about fulfilling his lesson plan. Smirking after a small period of silence, he rolled his dark ruby-red eyes.

"Play it by ear, I guess? We have no idea what Him's plan of attack is," Blossom pointed out, "We have no idea about whether we're on the offensive or defensive. That matters a lot."

"Does it?" Boomer spoke up. "Brick, Butch and I do know a lot more about Him since he raised us, maybe more than he realizes we know." I nodded, and Brick did, too. Boomer's eyes held a bit of humor as they met mine and we exchanged thoughts silently, remembering the times when we'd been little boys just messing around with our demented, evil father.

"There are also more of us than of him," Bubbles added, getting a bit excited and cutely bouncing up and down, but when no one else showed enthusiasm because of the obvious, she simmered. "But I guess that doesn't matter because he's some all-powerful demon who is probably watching our every move now..."

Trying to brighten the mood, I clapped obnoxiously when the blonde realized everyone else's thought process, only to be glared at by Buttercup as she snarled something unintelligible to me about making fun of her sister, which made me stop my raucous immediately.

Suddenly, I had a thought as Buttercup and I's little spat occurred, and I perked up. "I have an idea."


	36. Chapter 36

**A/N**

**OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS. I'VE BEEN GONE FOR LIKE 18 MONTHS AND I STILL RECEIVED LIKE 45 REVIEWS.**

**I THINK I LOVE YOU.**

**Anyways. Next chapter. xD**

****Chapter 36

(Buttercup's POV)

I didn't know what I was more pissed about: The fact that Butch was smirking at me like he knew something I don't know (he did, and that will follow this statement), and the fact that I had no idea what was going on.

After Butch had announced that he had an idea, he leaned over and whispered something short and sweet in Blossom's ear, which in turn caused Blossom to quickly push me out of the room before I could object and lock the door. I realized that they must be conversing with their eyes, or they must have left the room quickly after I was forced to because I couldn't hear a thing they were saying. Of course, I knew it had to be about me since they didn't want me to hear. Either that, or they knew it would make me mad and I probably wouldn't go along with it.

So, now I was walking down the street towards the center of Townsville, right beside Butch. His face was alternating between emotions, and he seemed to be twitching. I couldn't decide if it was forced, or if this was just happening because he was anxious, or something...

"What are we-"

"No comprendo ingles," He said cheerily, walking along beside me as I once again growled at him and pulled at my dark hair. Every time I tried to ask him a question, he'd answer with some smart-ass question or simply cut me off. While it annoyed me to no extent, I knew that it was for my own good so that Him would have less of a chance to find out, yet I just wanted answers, so I kept asking, being true to my nature.

"I hate you."

"I know," He answered, giving me a tiny smirk, although his eyes seemed sad.

This occurred over and over until we finally reached the middle of the town where we found a bench, and Butch sulked over to it and sat down quietly. Raising an eyebrow, I reluctantly followed him and sat down on the other side of the bench, as far away from him as possible.

"Are we waiting for-"

That's when he did it, and I wasn't expecting it at all, although I knew I should have been. He leaned across the bench, faster than I was used to comprehending, and smashed his lips against mine, hungrily trying to absorb me through his mouth.

Shocked, I didn't know what else to do but to react angrily, like I did with everything else in life. Shoving him away and yelling at him at the top of my lungs, I dove towards him, pinning him against the ground as I began to punch the life out of him, not even realizing that this was all according to his plan.


	37. Chapter 37

**A/N  
Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! It warms my heart when I get some that say you've taken like 2 days to read the whole thing! The support is the only thing keeping me going at this point, honestly.  
Sorry the chapters have been so short! Unfortunately right now I only have inspiration in short bursts, so I can't grind 'em out as fast as I used to be able to... Too much homework, I swear.  
Anyways, as for Butch's plan, you'll find out in this chapter.  
Hope you enjoy~  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls  
**Chapter 37  
(Brick's POV)  
In all honesty, when Butch exclaimed that he had an idea, my former self would have laughed and taunted him about it, saying it would probably blow up in his face or that it was really stupid. I know Boomer would have gone along with it, and backed me up.  
Now, I had no idea what to think. I'd changed for the most part, along with my brothers. The same personality traits would always lie underneath the skin, but we were changed men. At one point or another, we'd had a reason to slow down and to mature. I could sense in Butch in that moment that while his idea could be stupid, he also had a good motive behind it- One that could possibly make it a good, or even great, idea. Butch was eager to prove himself, I could tell, but to us, Him, or Buttercup? I didn't want to answer that question for myself in case I got my hopes up, but I knew in my heart of hearts that it was the last option. I could see it in those not-so-crazy-anymore dark green eyes of his. I might not be as empathetic as Boomer, but I was still his brother. I'd still grown up with him.  
As soon as Buttercup was away, Butch pleaded with Blossom to get us away from the door, so we went to the farthest place in the house that Buttercup wouldn't be able to get to- The laundry room.  
Gathering around the appliances in the small space, Blossom and I leaned up against the wall together while Boomer and Bubbles sat together on the dryer. Butch, on the other hand, picked the washing machine for his place to preach to us.  
"Okay," He started, raking his hand through his shaggy black hair. It had grown a lot, I realized, but he probably hadn't had any access to enough money in order to cut his hair. It looked alright on him, but by the way Butch kept irritably flicking and blowing it out of his eyes, I knew he'd probably want to get rid of it soon.  
I realized how much I'd missed my brother then; I was over analyzing his hair for God's sake...  
"So, what did Him enjoy when we were kids?" Butch asked, voice in a low whisper.  
"Seeing the girls suffer?" I provided, although I knew that it was probably not a very helpful answer. Butch smirked at me and raised his eyebrow.  
"Besides that," He snapped, though his voice was still low. "What distracted Him? More than anything?"  
Blossom, playing with a strand of her red hair beside me, raised her hand suddenly.  
Giving her an amused smile, Butch pointed at her, giving her permission to speak. I reached over and squeezed her petite shoulder in encouragement.  
"He loved to watch us fight," She explained, and I saw Bubbles nod her head excitedly in agreement, bouncing up and down on the dryer as she cut in,  
"Especially amongst each other!" She remembered, "He used to literally conjure up a chair and sit in it as he watched us bicker."  
Looking satisfied, Butch crossed his meaty arms and leaned back. "Precisely," He murmured, nodding his head. "Now what do we know about Him?"  
"He's a demon," Blossom provided.  
"I always felt really uncomfortable around him when I got older," Boomer muttered, rubbing his shoulder and looking away.  
"Yeah, 'cause he's a transvestite and he acted like our demonic mom," I laughed, shaking my head.  
"Yes!" Butch roared, then realized he was being loud and took a deep breath, quieting himself down. "Yes."  
"Demonic mom?" I asked, confused.  
"Transvestite. That's close enough to what I was thinking. He was, and still is, incredibly vain. Do you remember he used to take hours in the mirror combing his hair and putting on his make up and stuff?" Butch tried to make us recall.  
"Yeah!" Boomer gasped, "And by the time he was ready to take us to the park, it was already too late and all the little kids we could mess with had gone home."  
Nodding, my brother gave us all a smile, "So from what I've had you figure out, do you think you know what my plan is?"  
I needed to have a few little gaps filled in, but I could figure out the basics from what he'd said. I, along with everyone else, nodded.  
"Okay, so as for the argument," He said, his tone still hushed, "We need one person to get legitimately angry, do you feel me? Then we all just act from there on out, and carry out the rest of the plan."  
"And the person who will get angry will be...?" Bubbles asked for clarification.  
"The person that's out of the room," Boomer explained, rubbing her arm tenderly, giving her a warm smile. It kind of made me happy since my brother was so content, but I could sense discomfort in the place. I pinpointed it to be emanating from Butch. He was a little tense, and looking away from the blondes uncomfortably.  
I was never really one to exhibit empathy, but I couldn't help but feel a little sad for my brunette brother. He was the only one without a hand to hold, yet he'd come to the point where he seemed to value it, and deserve it, too.  
Unaware that my face had fallen into a frown, I was woken from my state of deep thinking as Blossom put a reassuring hand on my shoulder. Startled, I turned my head to face hers. She had a soft smile on her face, and leaned in to whisper to me.  
"She'll come around. She may be stubborn, but he'll get to her. You got to me," She told me.  
"How do we know this plan will work, though?" I wondered out loud, thinking the thought for both of our sakes.  
She leaned away from me, cupping the side of my face with her slender hand. Smiling softly at me again, she pecked me on the cheek and stared at me with a certain knowing look in her warm pink eyes.  
Although the intensity of that look made heat rise to the surface of my skin, I knew that if Blossom believed it would, then I had to, as well.  
Clearing his throat as if to announce that the meeting was adjourned (And secretly that he couldn't stand the double third-wheel thing anymore), Butch jumped off of his washing machine and began to start for the door.  
"Hey, wait!" I whispered urgently, and he stopped, staring at me wide-eyed as if I'd grown antlers.  
"How do you plan to make Buttercup angry?"  
His lips curled up slightly into a sad smile. "Do you really need to know?" He questioned me.  
The room seemed to be sucked dry of comfortability.  
"I guess not," I sighed, and he nodded at me, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then walked away.  
"Hey, wait!" Bubbles stopped him again, although he didn't turn around. "When do we start this plan?"  
"Right now, Barbie," Butch laughed, old self back in place, "I didn't feed you a giant breakfast for no reason!"


	38. Chapter 38

**A/N**

**Thanks so much for all of your kind reviews!**

**You all are going to hate me for these next few chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls.**

Chapter 38

(Boomer's POV)

She quivered beside me, pressing into me as asking for some sort of comforting touch. She was seeking protection and confidence, yet I didn't even have enough to spare for myself. Instead, I took her hand in mine and squeezed, attempting to lend her positive emotion through that action, and it seemed to work. I could see the goosebumps dotting her skin subside in my peripheral vision from where she sat beside me.

Bubbles and I were sheltering in what was left of some foliage near the square where Brick had planned for us all to meet. Butch would start a fight with Buttercup any moment now, and then the plan would have to come into action. While it wasn't the greatest I'd ever heard, and it wasn't too thought through (it WAS the green one of our group's, after all...) it was better than absolutely nothing. I could count all of the loop holes as if I were a young boy, tonguing the holes made by my missing teeth. There were so many places it could go wrong, and it was just like Butch to take the low probability that it would work. He always denied his optimism in circumstances like this, yet it was easy to see that it was there, in plain sight. I couldn't help but feel anxiety. Surely, if I'd noticed the loopholes and my girlfriend beside me was feeling the same way, it was easy for a demon to do the same.

"Is that our cue?" Bubbles questioned quietly, gesturing to Buttercup and Butch, rolling around on the floor about 100 meters away from us, cussing up a storm and tossing up dirt wherever they went. The girl looked livid, while my brother (naturally) looked quite entertained.

"What did he do to get her so mad this time?" I couldn't help but ask, curiosity getting the best of me.

There was a brief pause before Bubbles answered me, her tone a mix between sadness and interest. Turning to me, her eyes were a clear icy blue. "He just kissed her."

My eyebrows shot up, wrinkling my forehead. "Wow. That's bold."

"Poor Butch," She sighed. I shook my head despairingly. I felt bad for my brother, I truly did, but I didn't want to get too heavily involved in the affairs of two incredibly stubborn, angry people. This was probably a job for women.

Without another word, she and I moved as one, reaching them at the same time and separating each respective counterpart, however I took her sister while she took my brother since Butch was just pretending and didn't actually need to be restrained.

Buttercup immediately began to struggle out of my grip, trying to get away from me and get back to her victim, who continued to egg her on. She switched motives after awhile from struggling to attempting to gnaw her way out of my hands, like a dog.

"What's wrong, Sunshine?" He laughed, "You're all bark and no bite, and you seem to act like an animal, yet you don't value puppy love?"

"Shut up!" She hissed, lunging at him, but I held her back.

"Calm down," I urged her, digging my fingers into her skin, "What did he do this time?"

"He kissed me."

Bubbles and I pretended to be stunned for a brief moment, but then she smiled and I nodded at my older brother. "Nice bro."

He gave me a cocky wink in return, which made the brunette I was trying to hold back even more angry. "That's all you're going to say?" She shrieked.

"It was going to happen anyway," Bubbles returned, letting go of Butch to play with her long blonde hair.

This made both brunettes get defensive, and it wasn't planned at all. We weren't acting now, we were actually getting thoughts off of our chest. Was it a bad thing? I had no idea, but the statement made by the bubbly blonde definitely seemed to be.

"Hey, just because you all are happy together happily ever after doesn't mean that we need to be," Butch snarled at Bubbles, and she shrank away, hugging herself in defense and looking at the ground. This, in turn, made me angry because no one talked to my girl that way, even if he was my brother. "We're perfectly fine by ourselves."

"Hey, don't you do that," I growled, letting go of Buttercup for a brief moment, which happened to be my mistake. As soon as I did so, she zipped right over to Butch again and began another torrent of angry punches, pummeling his solid chest. This didn't do much at all, but it did put us back a few seconds. This plan seemed to be going good, though I had no meter with which to gauge what was supposed to be good and what was supposed to be bad.

Exhaling heavily, I took hold of the brunette girl again and forced her back, but she continued to scream and attempt to get away. "It's true anyways!" She yelled, hair falling into her face as her body relaxed for a moment, "We don't want to be together, and no one ever listens. Well, I don't want to, anyway, he's the bozo that kissed me. Is that the only reason you're even back?"

"You're _lucky _I kissed you, Sunshine," Butch spat, "And I'm back to help!"

"Don't you ever fucking-"

"Language!"

"Sorry, Bubbles. Don't kiss me! I didn't ask for it, I don't want it I don't want your help!" Buttercup started to struggle again, and I dug my fingers into her skin, using the momentum she was creating to whip her around so she could face me.

"You need to grow up, Buttercup! It doesn't matter what you want anymore. He's here, and without him we'd all be nothing!" I yelled in her face, and from the corner of my eye I saw Butch tense. He didn't like me talking to his girl this way as much as I didn't like him talking to mine. "You saw how fu-Sorry, Bubbles-screwed up we were without him. Stop being so selfish and immature, we need him!"

"I don't want any part of this! And I'm not immature," The brunette insisted, and from where she stood away from us, Bubbles was suddenly by my side again.

"You are too!" Her blue eyes were like fire, her tone cold as ice.

"Coming from the one who would beg for a band-aid and couldn't go on with her life if she managed to scrape her leg in a little scuffle with big sis when she was twelve years old?" Buttercup hissed, and I managed to shrink back this time. Her voice was terrifying.

"That's not what this is even about!"

"Stop talking to her that way!" I snarled, but they didn't hear me and carried on with their argument.

"Oh, what do you know? You're younger AND you're a boy, you're naturally less mature and don't have a say in this," Buttercup scoffed with a roll of her eyes, and this automatically made me even angrier.

"What are you fighting about?" The voice was loud and demanding, and made us all stop immediately as the reds zoomed into the circle of all of us, pushing us away. The impact of Buttercup against my chest knocked the breath out of my lungs, but I still managed to keep hold of her.

"Butch kissed me," Buttercup explained again, less patient this time with a roll of her light green eyes.

Once again, silence enthralled the group when my oldest brother decided it was time to break it.

"About time," He said, uttering a low chuckle while Blossom covered her brow and shook her head. They were not faking their surprise, while we actually had been, so their reactions were genuine.

"Don't freaking say that!" Buttercup snarled again, beginning yet another attempt to free herself from me, but I wasn't going to let it happen. "Ugh, I hate you, Boomer."

"That's not nice!" Bubbles interjected again, sticking up for me. That little moment made me smile, which everyone else caught. "Be nice to him!"

"OH MY GOD YOU GUYS ARE SO STUPID!" Butch groaned, throwing his hands up in the air.

"I thought you wanted this?" the blonde girl of the group fired back, which made my dark haired brother shut his mouth for a moment before starting up again, still unsure of what to say.

"I don't know what I want."

"I know what_ I want!"_ Buttercup shared loudly.

"NO ONE CARES!" The reds yelled at the same time, which got Buttercup all fired up again.

"Really? Look what you did," I sighed, but my annoyance was interrupted by a sudden feminine evil laugh. We all stopped what we were doing, and looked around for the source of the noise, but all we could see was a new plume of tell-tale red smoke.

"I do love a good argument," Came the voice, and chills traveled up my spine. I knew that this was supposed to be the plan, but I always hated to see the guy face-to-face.

"Hello, children."

Him was back. Again.


	39. Chapter 39

**A/N  
Sorry for the brief period of my silence, I'll get things going again. I hope this chapter meets your expectations.  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls**

Chapter 39  
(Boomer's POV)  
"This isn't working."  
Pain lanced through my face again as I was hit in the nose, and thrown backward into another building. Sliding down, I sorely rubbed the new tender spot before shaking it off and getting back into the fight, glancing over at the person who had just noticed that Butch's plan was failing.  
Blossom was using laser vision while flying around Him's waistline, attempting to weaken him in his core by utilizing the pain of the heat. The only effect was a slight wince on his part as he batted her away again, only for her place to be taken by my brother, her counterpart.  
"We shouldn't have trusted this plan," She hissed, adding another comment as she came up beside me again, hand on her bruised shoulder. "It's Butch's plan, anyway, we should have known."  
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" The one being questioned demanded, pausing in his torrent of punches to put his hands up in the air. In the brief moment of distraction, he, too was flung away in the opposite direction.  
"It means that you're stupid!" Buttercup growled from where she had barely dodged being stomped on by the demon transvestite, trying to pull the strings from the bottom to no avail.  
We'd basically been planning to continue fighting amongst ourselves and catch Him off guard, and then think of things that he absolutely hated in order to weaken him even more to the point where we could take him out without a problem. Obviously, that wasn't really working.  
"Oh, how I love your bickering!" Him's voice was much louder than ours, and it was noticeably creepier, as per usual. There was nothing I hated more than his two-toned comments and pretentious tone.  
"You're stupid, too," Buttercup hissed, throwing another punch at the demon's calf, but ended up deflected by the strength and immortality of the being.  
Suddenly, Brick was at my side, panting heavily. His hair was very disheveled and there was dust all over his face. It seemed like he'd been thrown into pre-existing rubble because he was dirtier than the rest of us. "They're right, this was a stupid plan. What were we thinking?"  
I bit my lip, and we both darted to opposite sides as another swinging red claw came our way, then regrouped again. The plan was extremely stupid, but it had been the only thing we'd had at the time, so we hadn't really thought it through. Him may have been more powerful than most, and could be considered the only actual supervillain in the Townsville area. However, he still had the intelligence of a mere mortal-at least based on our childhood experiences-and was therefore vulnerable to well-thought out plans. But, this wasn't a well-thought out plan.  
Our... was it? Looking back on my brother throughout the years, he'd never been the sharpest tool in the shed. He came in third place in the trio when it had come to grades and common sense. On the other hand, whenever some idea of his began to fail or really did fail, Butch wouldn't shut up and would often get extremely defensive and deny that anything was wrong.  
Glancing over at the dark-haired boy, I observed his behavior when I could afford to and wasn't dodging blows or making them myself. He was quiet, smirking, but the corners of his mouth were slightly lifted up in the ghost of a smile. Usually, he'd be loud, angry, cursing, you get the gist. The main point was, something wasn't right.  
"Brick, are you sure this is the actual plan?" I whispered, gesturing over to our middle brother with an incline of my chin in his direction. Brick did the same thing that I had, watching him through dark red eyes for a second before nodding knowingly.  
"You're right, something seems off. But would Butch really pull a fast one on us like that? The guy can be dumb, and inconsiderate, but he's never done this before, and he's obviously matured. I just don't think-"  
"-You don't think, but do you really know?" I whispered frantically, "We're running out of time, we're getting tired and we're losing. Just look at him! He's got this weird look..."  
Ducking another swipe, we both looked over towards him again. This time, he looked kind of sad. Butch was never sad. Or, at least he'd never been sad. He'd obviously changed now, and carried a depressed air about him.  
"You need to be the one to go talk to him then," Brick suggested, "One of us has to keep Him busy while we figure out what the real plan is."  
"Why can't Buttercup do it?" I grumbled, scraping the blonde hair out of my eyes, although I knew exactly why she couldn't.  
"There's no way in hell Buttercup's going to help Butch right now. She's a stubborn mule." Brick shook his head, and Him spontaneously caught Blossom in his hand, beginning to squeeze the redhead tightly until she began to scream.  
Beside me, my brother tensed. "Talk to him, now!" He yelled, before darting away.  
I huffed, not wanting to have to find the words to get the information out of him quickly. Quickly flying over to the brunette in a dark blue streak, I began to fight side by side with him while I tried to collect my thoughts and find my words. Butch was known to make you talk in circles, so you had to really be literal if you wanted to know something that he didn't want to tell you.  
"We know..." I began, but my train of thought left me as I changed my mind, and I shook my head at my choice of words.  
"You know what?" Butch questioned, smiling a toothy smile, "That my plan reeks?"  
"No!" I shook my head, planting a few uppercuts into Him's ribs. Blossom had been freed by Brick, who was now taking vengeance upon the transvestite by attacking his eyelashes and eyebrows. It was actually phasing the demon, who took great care when it came to his facial appearance. "No, we know about your plan. We know that this isn't it."  
"What do you mean 'this isn't it?' We're enacting this thing right here, right now. Please tell me you see that, little bro," He laughed, shaking his head. Dark hair fell into his dark green eyes, but I could see a shadow there. He was hiding something.  
"No, what I see is that look in your eye. You're not telling us something, are you?"  
He didn't answer, just continued to fight the monster.  
"Are you?" I asked again, pulling him away from the fight by placing my hands on his shoulders and forcing him to turn around and look at me.  
"Maybe, maybe not." Sarcasm pulled the corners of his lips up again, and I could really see it then-He wasn't telling me something, and it was big.  
"Butch, what are you going to do?" I questioned him, fingers digging deep into the skin surrounding his shoulders.  
"What is your weakness?" He questioned me, smile still in place. His eyes were sad, still. It was making my heart burn a little bit-Like the burn you get when something just doesn't go your way.  
"Bubbles?" I provided automatically, not being able to help the goofy smile that threatened to distort my face in front of my brother. It always happened, and you really couldn't blame me. She was like my salvation and I could never get enough of her.  
"No, no, no, none of that right now. I mean physically. What can kill you?"  
It actually took me a moment to think of just what that may be, but then the picture of it came to mind more than the words themselves. The picture of it was all I needed-The name of it was on the bottle itself. "Antidote X?"  
"Precisely." And then, in a flash of dark green, he was gone.  
"Wait! Butch!" I gasped, staring after him as my clothing and hair settled back into place from the sudden rush of air. It was no use, however, because he was already far away. Looking around, I followed my instincts.  
"Bubbles!" I murmured, finding myself by her side. Her face was bruised by one of her eyebrows and she was incredibly dusty, but she was still beautiful of course.  
"Boomer! I'm so glad you're okay, you don't look hurt real bad, that's good. I'll kiss it all better later," She gushed, winking at me. It was amazing that even though we were in the middle of a crazy huge fight that we probably couldn't win, she still remained optimistic.  
"Sounds good," I breathed, heart thumping harder in my chest as I forgot my main reason for coming to find her in the first place. Shaking my blonde hair, I stated my demands again. "Look, Butch just flew away. He said something about Antidote X."  
Her blue eyes widened. "I know that we don't have a whole lot of that stuff. The amount we have will work enough on Him to weaken him for a long period of time... A-at least I think. I don't know if it works on the supernatural. Are we the supernatural?"  
She began to ramble, and I took her gently by the shoulders. "Bubbles, is there enough to like, coat his face or something? How does Antidote X even work?"  
"In large doses, it works if it coats someone," she answered me, "But we don't have a large enough dose for that."  
"Okay, is there another way that it will work?"  
"If it's taken by mouth, it works even better," She noted, nodding to herself as if she'd just remembered the point.  
"How are we going to get Him to take it by mouth, though?" I asked, thinking through all of the possibilities in my head. I breathed out, then quickly moved Bubbles out of the way of another fast-moving claw. "I need you to follow Butch. He's being too rash, this was his main plan. We all needed to discuss it, I know something is going to go wrong."  
"How long ago did he leave?"  
I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. "Ah, fu-I mean... Ugh, it's been at least a minute."  
"Boomer! That's plenty of time to get to my house, destroy the lab, and find the-"  
"Hey, Him!" I'd never not wanted to hear his voice more in my life. Even when we were kids and were in a violent argument. "Can I ask you something?"  
"Butch, stop!"  
But it was too late.


End file.
